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| Subvector Colloquy |
"This experiment is related to language: how is language involved in the processing of sensory phenomena? How does language modify (filter, modulate, truncate, reduce, amplify) the fullness of the sensory experience of an external object: Language is not a neutral recollection of facts, events or past experiences; it changes the memory of a past experience through a rationalization performed in the present moment. Language works along paths of metaphors and associations to produce an intellectualization of the sensuous processes, by selecting what to remember and what to forget, what to paste together and what to separate, what to emphasize or understate. This linguistic process ushers in more questions: how does the sense of time alter as we encode an experience in memory? How incomplete is our representation of objects which change and decay over time (since we often store only a snapshot in our memory)? And a question specific to this experiment, which took place in the presence of an audience: are there differences, perceptually, between the species of time of the performer and that of the observer?"
Sascia Pellegrini, from The Amplification of Sense
Texts
Live
July 16, 2025
Subvector Colloquy
Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center,
Seattle
Tom Baker, Keith Eisenbrey, Haley Freedlund, Leanna Keith,
Jim Knodle
The Wizards Returned with Reinforcements to Once Again Corrupt the Young and Confound The Ancient!
Tom "Green Eggs and Ham" Baker, guitar
Keith "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew
Cubbins" Eisenbrey, piano
Haley "Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog?"
Freedlund, trombone
Leanna "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" Keith, flute
Jim "Horton Hears a Who" Knodle, trumpet
It was the hottest day of the year
(so far)
but the Colloquial
Wizards cast cooling spells
a completely wonderful evening
in my ever so humble opinion
(recordings linked below)
Recorded
July 12, 2025
Sordid Crude - Keith Eisenbrey [April 30, 1988]
forcing the limits
of signal retention
and fidelity
on
magnetic media
through
repeated tape speed alterations
using
a Teac reel to reel tape recorder
in conjunction
with a
cassette tape deck
for years now
the Teac has been retired
and leads a quiet life
as my bednight table
original intent
was to discover
what
if anything
the
process might divulge
about the shape
of my Sonata in 2
Movements
conclusion
many aspects of it
hold their own quite well
still quite pleased
with how the 2nd movement
simply
replaces
the ongoingness
of the first
as though
it
had never been
the highest tones
have little left
but
a sound
like distant firecrackers
the tape wobble
becomes
quite dramatic
prefiguring Ms. Found In A Bottle
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| Washington Arboretum |
melody constructed for clear segmentation
into isometric portions
Glory To God (rehearsal take 1) - Keith Eisenbrey - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey
these takes were indifferently dated
but were within a year or so of
composition
so 1998-2000 range
likely more toward 1998
The Gnossienee #3 - Brave Combo [from Box of Ghosts]
in the same lame bin
as
the various classical melody collections
(as seen on TV
just the parts you love
none of the boring
bits)
but now
with drum tracks
and cabaret
arrangements
grotesques in vitrines
Gradus 141 - Neal Kosály-Meyer [June 16, 2008]
Bloomsday (Jim's Day)
a vector of perception
a thing
a pitchy thing
a thing
of two pitches
a coordinated thing
of two pitches
already
some aspects overlooked
perhaps
aspects appear
simultaneously
but
along different registers of perception
multiple paths
converging
within the specious now
of
consciousness
only
the path of attention
that provides
an illusion
of sequential experience
music
as a mode
allowing perception
of simultaneously
unfolding processes
organizing them
so that
we can flirt
with bewilderment
or wallow in it
your call
or subdue
it
or rationalize it
and yet
we hear sounds
as objects
in the world around us
that sound
that object
that
note
that twitter
that boom
that crash
that bang
that clank
no amount of repeating
can make a note
the same note
as
another
howsoever functionally similar they may be
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| Washington Arboretum |
In Jiro's Room - Lori Goldston [from Film Scores]
a film score standing alone
can be both music and film
as a film
standing alone
might be
both film and music
one might imagine
a film
with music
in which
both film
and music
are
those modes
and
that the modes
film as music
and music as film
become a synthesis
Banned Rehearsal 955 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy, Neal Kosály-Meyer [March 26, 2018]
if I leave the listening room
to retrieve my water bottle
as my
recorded voice
is announcing the date and participants
then
when I return
the session
is already fully engaged
pitched instruments
can be polyphonic
because pitched structures
can be
if sessions
were conceived primarily
as a social experiment
a postulation
about people being together
and if
and
to the extent that
Banned Rehearsal
has been
such sessions
then
as that social experiment
has continued to run
these 40 years
a social cohesion
has arisen
and a
music has been formed
within that social cohesion
a music
that is us
and is
of us
being together
unique
to the particulars
of the parties involved
whistle like a frog
the little midi man
says three and four
who wrote the book on love
randomization
to sort
without a finger on the scale
to
mix a metaphor
or more
now the little midi man
is tootootootootootooing
T Ux2 O (Tea, You twice, Oh)
Ux2 = double U
so two
is four letters
not three
I wonder
wonder
I won
Four Places on Planet Earth - S. Eric Scribner [from Adjacencies]
I think I may have been involved in this {nope}
or at least participated
in something
from the same score
on a different occasion
there is (are)
(a) persistent tone producing device(s)
in this
music
that is out of place
as a place on earth
in the sense
the other sounds in this music
are
but
not out of
place
in this music
the limits of the space
in which the places on earth are placed
some music is spacy
this music is placy
a place
is a sense
of how sounds transpire
these sounds
transpire
in different sensations of placeness
count of places
is immaterial
there are only
one of many
spontaneously generating
polyphonies
ribbit
ribbit
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| Washington Arboretum |
Madrigals, Book VIII: Altri canti di marte: No. 2, Due belli occho fur l’armi, onde traffitta - Claudio Monteverdi - Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini
in general
song is a different mode of expression
than poetry
more translation into
than presentation of
choral song
even more so
Kommt her zu mir, spricht Gottes Sohn, BuxWV 201 - Dieterich Buxtehude - Simone Stella
a comforting and tender presence
a color of light
Premier livre de clavecin: Deuxieme Ordre (fin) : Les Idees Heureuses. Tendrement, sans lenteur - François Couperin - Kenneth Gilbert
graceful growth
contour accent
combined with figuration
between the parts
is
where
and what
the meter is
Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht, BWV 105 - Johann Sebastian Bach - Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Amsterdam Baroque Choir, Ton Koopman
confession
reckoning
penance
the work
of repentance
a ritual
by which
we accept forgiveness
(grace)
oboe dances
palm to palm
with voice
these notes
are countable pulses
Sonata in D Major, Kk. 282 - Domenico Scarlatti - Pieter-Jan Belder
we will attend to each
in good order
and completely
now to new business
a delicate matter
requiring some care be taken
and
discreetly
all done
Sonata in F Major, K. 494 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Kristian Bezuidenhout
1
balanced repetitions
fool us
into thinking
repetition
is where the action is
only later
are we
pulled into his story telling
they become place-holders
so that
we know
we have arrived
somewhere
solid
for a
time
2
the motions required
to trace dreamy paths
through tonal
space
3
this figure
insists on itself
so that
we recognize
its reappearances
"Solo e pensoso" - Aria from "Il Canzoniere" - Franz Joseph Haydn - Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Armin Jordan, Edith Mathis
an operatic aria
is a major production
time must be allowed
for the singer to collect their wits
and maneuver their costumed
self
to their mark
and so
to shine
most
respendantly
you can always count on Papa Haydn
to do a good job of it
and time
for the audience
to throw flowers
Prelude in E-flat Major, Op. 28 #19 - Frédéric Chopin - Garrick Ohlsson
a young sprite flits
that's all
Album für die Jugend: Volksliedchen, Op. 68 #9 - Robert Schumann - Eric Le Sage
each syllable speaks
Poème Tragique, Op. 34 - Alexander Scriabin - Dmitri Alexeev
such a handsome figure of a man
passionate and true
begins to
ponder
in the night
the cares of a nation
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| Washington Arboretum |
West Indies Blues - Piron's New Orleans Orchestra [from That Devilin' Tune]
we hear long ago
through a compromised aperture
Come Over Here - Elder R. Bryant [from Turn Me Loose White Man]
inviting as to a lively party
I'm All For You (take 2) - Billie Holiday [from Lady Day, The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia]
language infects our perception of music
but
that tune
is
doing a number
on those cornball words
Sonatas and Interludes: Sonata VI - John Cage - Boris Berman
figures such as harp music
could be arranged?
treating the harp
as a different preparation?
Chippie - Ornette Coleman [from Something Else!!!!]
this road
has bumps
but our shocks
are in good order
so
we speed on down
take them
in stride
Little Child - The Beatles [from With The Beatles]
harmonica explosion to open
which then steps back from the microphone
Midnight Mood - Bill Evans [from Alone]
chords to wrap around oneself
to warm
hot chocolate
Time - Pink Floyd [from The Dark Side of the Moon]
time is allowed its alarm
these songs are such a production
before
we get to words
which are quite few
compared
to the heft of
the instrumentals
the poem
is included with other objects
actually two songs
from a certain point of view
Rock & Roll N***** - Patti Smith Group [from Easter]
like the Pink Floyd of Time
this is a comment upon the world in
general
and a posture within it
Badlands - The PKs [from Live in The Living Room]
for drums
tambourine
and distant guitar
and vocals
elaborately arranged
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| Washington Arboretum |
Bono's cover
is constrained
in comparison with the original
Quartet for Oboe, Violin, Viola, and Cello in F Major, K. 370 (K. 386b) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Itzhak Perlman [from The Art of Itzhak Perlman]
one presumes
written for an oboist he met somewhere
this music
is for the musicians playing it
the audience
are
just eavesdropping
all those voice-leading figuration games he plays
are for their amusement
and our vicarious delight
Heartbreak Hotel (feat. Faith Evans and Kelly Price) - Whitney Houston [from My Love Is Your Love]
epistolarily yours
wish you were here
so blame
could be
arranged
Gradus 48 - Neal Kosály-Meyer [July 14, 2025]
of such vastly inconceivable extent
that any moment of it
is all
there is of it
however
it is only the conceit of its discipline
that makes it so
the sounds are
of themselves
the same
sizes and shapes
as other sounds can be
a rhythm like tapping codes
that discover themselves
in
conversation
by a language
arising
to the occasion
two tones
chattering freely with each other
raw census of notes
a crude measure
Autumn Island - True Bugs [from 25 Songs]
the thoughts so free
with duck weed
Banned Rehearsal 845 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Steve Kennedy, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer [September 30, 2013]
chamber music
with harmonica and birthday card
forest critters
at peace
without failure to distinguish
any signal's source object
One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor - Paul Simon [from In The Blue Light]
revisiting songs from old days
Sinfonia 2 (clavichord) - Keith Eisenbrey - Keith Eisenbrey [recorded August 5, 2023]
explains itself as it goes
as best it can
its clockwork is
deceptively clever
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| Washington Arboretum |
Ida Red - Tweedy Brothers [from Turn Me Loose White Man]
fiddling and strumming for mutual pleasure
dance song
designed to
be cycled
as directed
by the dance caller
They Are There!, first take (abandoned) (1943) - Charles Ives - Charles Ives [from Charles Ives Plays Charles Ives]
enthusiastic and wordy
Someone To Watch Over Me - Sarah Vaughan [from Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin]
introductory stanzas
as in the original show version
followed by
the tune everybody whistles in the lobby
On Christmas Day In The Morning [from The Life Treasury of Christmas Music]
before Commercial Christmas in Middle America
could afford to be seen
as Commercial Christmas
Cogitation - Sun Ra [from Monorails and Satellites]
leads into
and just past
a groove
veering freely up
its sides
dune jumping
then they get to talking
angular
simpatico
As Long As He Will Stay - Morgana King [from New Beginnings]
these musicians are playing the part assigned them
professional
suppression
of anything that might get in the way of the vocals
it's a paying gig
Morning Sun - Carole King [from Welcome Home]
modulate towards the hook chorus key
so the consumers can find the
record
to buy it
flirtatious fade on the instrumentals
Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk - T Bone Burnett [from Truth Decay]
recorded in an empty room
journal of observations
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| Washington Arboretum |
back when I was trying on anything
that was composition
before I
discovered myself again
as my own best performer
and
more
crucially
keyboards as my natural voice
not actually poorly written
just what?
inert?
the
part-writing is quite clear
a valiant attempt
very much in the
manner of a serious piece of choral music
the choir is game
and is doing quite well
in the difficulties
I threw at them
I do tend to treat the words
as polyphony-fodder
God Is Seen - Robert Shaw Festival Singers [from Amazing Grace]
familiar to me
from the inside
our choir sang this at least once
July 18, 2025
Subvector Colloquy - Tom Baker, Keith Eisenbrey, Haley Freedlund, Leanna Keith, Jim Knodle [recorded live July 16, 2025]
respiring corporately
we breathe an image
into aural space
cooling spells
for a warm evening
not
of a one-mind
but
a mind
of one us
inhabiting
the combined ear
of all present
playful fugato in the second set
as we fancy
Seattle's spacy muse
In Session at The Tintinabulary
July 13, 2025
St. John's - Keith Eisenbrey
July 14, 2025
Banned Rehearsal 1129 - Karen Eisenbrey, Keith Eisenbrey, Anna K, Aaron Keyt, Neal Kosály-Meyer
Postscripts
Drops
Music of Aaron Keyt - Part 1
My decades-long collaboration/conversation with Aaron Keyt has been among my most valued musical relationships. I have two more volumes of recordings waiting in the wings, and quite a few scores queued up to learn and record. This first volume includes pieces written over the last four decades and more. The recordings were made from 2005 through 2014, except "Monsters" for piano 4-hands, which were recorded live in 2022. Jennifer K. Chung plays the Primo and I the Secundo.
Three Bagatelles (1999)
Occasional Pieces (1984-1989)
Monsters
(2022)
Three Pastorales (1984)
Sonata (2012)
recordings of my compositions (and more!) can be found at keitheisenbrey.bandcamp.com - free to download or stream
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