Last night I had the privilege of hearing the world premiere of a wonderfully engaging work by Nils Vigeland. Scored for the unlikely combination of harpsichord, glockenspiel, flute, and cello, it evoked all possible references to the sound world of each of the single instruments and of every possible permutation of their combined sounds: in pairs, trios, and as the full assemblage.
I was literally on the edge of my chair, an experience all too rare in an era of self-conscious avoidance of the substantive nature of sound itself while pursuing the refinements of compositional technique and other irrelevancies.
I want to be engaged via the ear in every manner of mood and possibility. It was all there. Thanks, Nils!
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Again The Influence of Klee? Perhaps....
Your bids are invited: www.tonalrefraction.com Seven days remaining.
"Bricks" crocheted of recycled fibers while riding New York City mass transit. It beats getting mad at traffic delays. One of the seven String Improvisations on sale now.
"Bricks" crocheted of recycled fibers while riding New York City mass transit. It beats getting mad at traffic delays. One of the seven String Improvisations on sale now.
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| Full Spectrum mostly wool 71" x 44" |
Listening: The Missing Element in Music Appreciation
Without listening music has no meaning. The listener brings as much to the sense of a work of music as does the composer or the performer.
This observation was demonstrated very intelligently by Viktor Zuckerkandl, whose work set me off on my life's journey of relating music to human beings and via music relating myself to others--family, friends, the population at large, whoever would take it in.
We do not take listening seriously in contemporary culture. It is almost frowned upon as being too intimate an activity, like Emily Dickinson's secret, sitting in the middle and knowing while everyone else dances around in a ring supposing.
Music does not consist of themes and forms except via the craft of the composer. It is the composer's job to organize vibrations however she finds sensible so as to compel listening on the part of anyone who will take them (i.e., the vibrations) in.
All too often music is performed as though it is a matter of getting the punctuation correct rather than even the performers having to listen to the sounds they make.
Thus they become the vassal with the pea-shooter aiming peas into the open mouth of King Midas so that he can swallow the peas without chewing them, digesting them before they turn into gold and break his teeth. (Cf. Milt Gross: Nize Baby, a brilliant collection of "ferry tails.")
This observation was demonstrated very intelligently by Viktor Zuckerkandl, whose work set me off on my life's journey of relating music to human beings and via music relating myself to others--family, friends, the population at large, whoever would take it in.
We do not take listening seriously in contemporary culture. It is almost frowned upon as being too intimate an activity, like Emily Dickinson's secret, sitting in the middle and knowing while everyone else dances around in a ring supposing.
Music does not consist of themes and forms except via the craft of the composer. It is the composer's job to organize vibrations however she finds sensible so as to compel listening on the part of anyone who will take them (i.e., the vibrations) in.
All too often music is performed as though it is a matter of getting the punctuation correct rather than even the performers having to listen to the sounds they make.
Thus they become the vassal with the pea-shooter aiming peas into the open mouth of King Midas so that he can swallow the peas without chewing them, digesting them before they turn into gold and break his teeth. (Cf. Milt Gross: Nize Baby, a brilliant collection of "ferry tails.")
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Tease Fingers and Eyes - a Sensual Feast
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| Coverlet: Wool / alpaca / silk blend / tencel 42" x 24" |
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| Loops, bows, fuzzy bits |
Most
Part
Pink
One of the throws up for silent auction at www.tonalrefraction.com
Seven days to go!
Sound, the Medium
That title refers, of course, to Marshall McLuhan's famous words: "The medium is the message." How true this is for music. The trouble is that the medium has become confused by the media.
Recorded sound is not sound. The difference may be likened to that between fresh and canned vegetables.
Once passed through microphones and amplifiers the thing itself is no longer recognizable.
I do not doubt in the slightest that being at home in the medium of sound with all its rich complexities releases the inhibitions that block good coordination at the instrument.
Recorded sound is not sound. The difference may be likened to that between fresh and canned vegetables.
Once passed through microphones and amplifiers the thing itself is no longer recognizable.
I do not doubt in the slightest that being at home in the medium of sound with all its rich complexities releases the inhibitions that block good coordination at the instrument.
Monday, June 2, 2014
It's a Klee! No, It's a Bunch of Fuzzy Squares
One week to go to bid on the three rugs and four throws (of which this is one). Visit www.tonalrefraction.com and get in on it. The throws may be hung on the wall or used to keep you warm inside and out.
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| Fuzzy Squares closeup |
Nothing Beats a Book
A composer colleague has just purchased my Tonal Refraction book on the Mozart G minor Piano Quartet--the whole thing, complete with annotations of each individual part as well as the score. With any luck working through the book will turn out to be like studying composition from inside a work of Mozart without theoretical analysis -- in other words, it will involve inhabiting the dramatic logic of each line through the sensibility of a musician whose entire life has been devoted to piercing from the ear the inner workings of textures so rich that they require four people to bring them to life.
For what does it mean to study a masterwork if not to inhabit it through the sensibility of its creator, which is completely different from the going standard of imitating the latest recording by famous players.
For what does it mean to study a masterwork if not to inhabit it through the sensibility of its creator, which is completely different from the going standard of imitating the latest recording by famous players.
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