Reviews

[Editor’s note: Selected reviews are At its premiere in 1969, seven harp- posted on the Web at www sichordists played aleatoric parts on .computermusicjournal.org (click amplified harpsichords constructed on the Reviews tab). In some cases, from original material, and music they are either unpublished in the from Mozart and other historical Journal itself or published in an composers using FORTRAN com- abbreviated form in the Journal.] puter code that replicated and built upon the dice-rolling procedures. The

additional media used, according to Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 Kenneth Silverman’s biography of Events Cage, included 52 monaural tape machines playing 208 different tapes through 59 speakers, 64 slide pro- jectors showing 6,400 slides, and 40 films projected on eleven 100 × 400 HPSCHD@50 film screens as well as a 40-foot cir- cular screen. As if to further pinpoint This concert took place 4 March 2020 the work’s moment in time, many of at the Krannert Center for the Per- the slides contained newly released forming Arts, Stage 5, on the campus images from NASA’s space missions, of the University of Illinois at Urbana- anticipating the moon landing a few Champaign, Illinois, USA. For more months later in 1969. information visit: www.nonopera Although HPSCHD is known for .org/WP2/hpschd-50. To hear a ran- the multifaceted spectacle of its pre- domly selected tape from the 52 and a panel discussion the day before miere, the resources required to stage original tapes used for HPSCHD, call at the University of Illinois’s weekly it are as open-ended as many of Cage’s the number +1-217-290-2473. composition forum. HPSCHD’s premiere on 16 May other compositions. As described Reviewed by Ralph Lewis 1969 represented a culmination of on the John Cage Trust’s Web site, Champaign, Illinois, USA two years of collaborative efforts be- HPSCHD can be staged with one to tween John Cage and the university’s seven harpsichordists and at least two Fifty years after the premiere of Experimental Music Studios founder speakers playing some of the many John Cage’s immersive, multimedia Lejaren Hiller. Laetitia Snow, James tape parts. Similarly, its duration can work HPSCHD at the University of Cuomo, James Grant Stroud, and be any agreed upon amount of time. Illinois, it returned to Champaign- Max Mathews also contributed in In this way, HPSCHD resembles Urbana in a performance by Chicago- realizing the work, which required other indeterminate works by Cage, based NON:op Open Opera Works extensive computer programming where another staging can bring in collaboration with the Illinois and technological expertise. Initially about profoundly different results. Modern Ensemble. The production, envisioning a work based on a com- Even so, the premiere’s staging HPSCHD@50, was led by Christophe mission from Swiss harpsichordist and ambience seems to create a Preissing with input from William Antoinette Vischer, Cage would find peculiar sense of continuity in how Brooks and Neely Bruce, two of procedural inspiration in Mozart’s HPSCHD is performed, even if the the seven harpsichordists from the dice-based composition game. As scale of these later realizations is 1969 premiere. This anniversary one of a handful of proposals he noticeably smaller. The impact of this concert on 4 March 2020 followed made to the university’s Center for is similarly visible in tributes to the NON:op’s performances of HPSCHD Advanced Study, this starting point work. For example, a commemorative a few weeks earlier at The Chicago of combining harpsichord solo with concert party on 16 May 2019 (the Cultural Center, a symposium about electronic music that used chance actual 50th anniversary of HPSCHD’s the work at Northwestern University, operations based on rolling dice even- premiere) at Analog, a wine bar tually expanded into an arena-sized in Urbana, Illinois, presented an doi:10.1162/COMJ r 00542 happening in the university’s 18,000 array of music and art by local C 2020 Massachusetts Institute of seat Assembly Hall (now State Farm artists approximating the premiere’s Technology Center). ambience.

Events 81 Another amusing aspect of this The recent performance at the photos of nebulae and constellations continuity is the presence of David University of Illinois’s Krannert Cen- as people walked by increasingly Eisenman at the 1969 premiere, the ter for the Performing Arts took place felt like a part of the space’s casual 2019 Analog concert-party, the panel on Stage 5, the intimate concert space mass of the harpsichords playing in Chicago, at this 50th anniversary and bar in the middle of the building’s and cell phones creaking and pop- performance, and other HPSCHD- immense lobby. Four harpsichords ping electronic music throughout. It related events. In addition to being in were arranged on the stage by the seems that the imagery is less impor- touch with Cage as part of planning bar, and within the seating area. Its tant to capture the feelings Chadabe Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 the premiere (a telegram from 1968 personnel included harpsichordists described than the environment- sent to Eisenman by Cage regarding Francis Yun, Shi-an Costello, Mathal distorting presence of projections and the planning, that David Tudor is Stiehl, and Ann Warde, audio by Hugh light sources. (Notably, the perfor- likely to play Variations II on campus Sato, and visuals by Theo Economides mances at Chicago Cultural Center’s that year, and a suggestion about and Ilse Miller. Mark Enslin and John Preston Bradley Hall used extensive popping aerial balloons to celebrate Toenjes provided additional support. screens that NON:op Open Opera Mardi Gras, is among documents The work’s electronic music el- Works hand-built for the occasion.) collected about the original perfor- ements appeared in ways that re- In thinking about the Krannert mance), he made and sold the famous flected a more nimble approach Center as a space, I was reminded T-shirts depicting Cage’s head on geared toward presenting HPSCHD that the space in which this concert Beethoven’s body at the premiere. He in different spaces, as well as con- was held celebrated its own fiftieth has remained a presence, with more temporary trends such as the use year anniversary recently. Opening T-shirts, buttons, and CDs ready to of smart devices in performances. in April 1969, the Krannert Center share at each event. Ever the puckish Rather than tape machines (or any of would seem to be a likely partner with figure, each encounter with Eisen- their contemporary equivalents) and HPSCHD, especially considering its man furthers my fascination with the speakers, attendees’ phones played current stature in presenting music premiere. the electronic music parts. The event and dance events in Champaign- Joel Chadabe, who has produced program asked attendees to call the Urbana and its close proximity to several presentations of HPSCHD specified phone number and select a the university’s music building. Even since its premiere and was a resource number between 1 and 52. Based on so, HPSCHD’s premiere in 1969’s to Preissing and NON:op Open Opera their choice, one of the original tape size and focus on simultaneities Works, has similar thoughts about parts would begin playing from their throughout a single large space made the ambience of the work. Writing phone speaker. As of 8 July 2020, the the assembly hall a much better fit about the general performance his- telephone number (+1-217-290-2473) for it. tory of HPSCHD on his personal Web is still active and Preissing has ap- On the other hand, this year’s site, which he continues to update proved sharing the number here. One event reflects the presence Krannert (already listing this 4 March 2020 of the joys in writing this review was has established in the Champaign- performance at the time of writing), calling to check if it was still active, Urbana area. In addition to being the he shares these thoughts: “HPSCHD, sometimes multiple times a week. performance hub for music, theater, in my view, should always be extrav- In a similar way that the audi- and dance productions, its main lobby agant, exuberant, and wild. Unlike ence’s phones replicated the multiple was designed to be a meeting place a sewing machine. I understand it tape players and speakers, a more in which people attending different and hear it as a joyful melee of lithe, mobile approach was also used productions could meet. The stage continually sustained intensity, of to reference the projected images. in the central part of the lobby computer-generated trumpets sound- A few people circulated throughout used for HPSCHD has had as many ing an ongoing charge by a cavalry the crowd with iPads showing pho- preconcert talks and postconcert of amplified harpsichords through a tographs of space, in a nod to the libation partaking as it has had landscape filled with thousands of NASA photos, and projections from performances of its own. It makes flashing and swirling overlaid projec- the premiere. Although less ambi- sense that one of the most attention- tions of color, form, and space imagery tious and certainly less impactful getting works from the University on the ceilings and walls and, as on than Calvin Sumsion’s 1969 visual of Illinois this side of Salvatore occasion, on special screens placed spectacle or this performance’s use of Martirano’s L’s GA should finally throughout the space.” phones as speakers, the presence of appear in its marquee performance

82 Computer Music Journal space. Even so, the question is, how quite differently in various contem- and longtime-tenured professors did it engage its attendees? porary music spaces throughout the alike bought and donned David Of the 50 people who came, in- United States, often there is a confu- Eisenman’s Cage-headed Beethoven cluding those from the preceding sion, a disinterest, or sense that Cage T-shirts. Attendees walked onto Illinois Modern Ensemble Concert overshadows other experimentalism. and over the small stage to look in the Studio Theater, a number While encouraging people who have inside the harpsichords and at the stayed as HPSCHD played on until not yet performed Cage’s music or sheet music. James Beauchamp,

Martha Stiehl’s final notes. Many, gotten over acceptable, initial giggles Scott A. Wyatt, Sever Tipei, and Eli Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 including University of Illinois at to venture further, it is a good sign Fieldsteel—Hiller’s successors in the Urbana-Champaign School of Mu- that other experimentalist approaches University of Illinois’s Experimental sic Senior Recording Engineer Frank and voices are being amplified too, Music Studios and Computer Music Horger, were engaged by it. Horger re- such as in Jennie Gottschalk’s su- Project—were all in attendance. lated that “HPSCHD was pleasantly perb book Experimentalism Since The harpsichordists played their disjointed, easily digestible, and fas- 1970. parts exquisitely. After spending cinating for both its musical content Disconnects with HPSCHD also time watching Francis Yun and Shi- as well as its historical context. It speak to the relative trouble in an Costello play up close, I made welcomed spectators to linger and explaining historical or older works mywaytoAnnWarde,whowas, focus on the disparate elements both that depend upon a community at that moment, surrounded by individually and collectively as part to sustain new or related event- a number of cell phones playing of this ‘happening’.” going practices. It should be easy— the electronics tracks, creating a History doctoral student Kat Wis- HPSCHD’s atmosphere is so close poignant and complex texture. As nosky, meanwhile, had another take. to where Burning Man, arena rock the performance winded down, I “My first thought about it was that shows, dance clubs, and immersive settled in and followed along with it didn’t quite work as well as the art environments have since gone. Mathal Stiehl’s part. While this “do it organizers hoped. People seemed shy But being pitched to a concert-going yourself” performance (as described about participating.” Wisnosky went crowd, it feels different. Cage scholar by HPSCHD@50 themselves) was on to suggest that “maybe having Sara Haefeli, also a panel member intentionally not extravagant, the started it in the theater space and for the 50th anniversary celebrations, cranky, spirited performance was then moving it out into a larger area writes about how place and time feel my favorite Wednesday night of would have worked better. The con- different in her article “HPSCHD, 2020. cept and how they were trying to Gesamtkunstwerk, and Utopia.” In follow-up correspondence with do it was really interesting. I just Even in this seemingly now-familiar Preissing, he spoke about the ex- don’t think the audience was into space where we can converse, drink, periences he and his collaborators it.” While Wisnosky’s comments do and tinker with our smart devices this went through to produce this set of reflect on the relative energy of an “utopian ‘no place’ and . . . ‘no time’ performances. Even in attempting to audience for a Wednesday evening suggest that HPSCHD represents a make this University of Illinois ver- concert as compared to a massive possible, anarchic future, and not sion of HPSCHD a “no projectors, no happening on a Friday or Saturday, a prescriptive future; the Utopian screens, no hassle” performance, the they also reflect, perhaps, on how future is not a fixed, determined amount of behind-the-scenes work times have changed, as have cultural ‘should be,’ but rather a flexible, was considerable. It included tracking interactions with Cage. multiple ‘what if’.” down the individual 52 electronic Although experimentalism has I deeply enjoyed this “no place” music tapes, their digital versions, continued since Cage’s passing, and and had a great “no time” during setting up the app to control them, is not simply the domain of the the performance. Although, indeed, and locating enough harpsichords for New York School aesthetics, what some people were shy about things, each performance. Cage’s work is and how it is dealt they also were intently watching the Although the last performance with—even in historically receptive harpsichordists play, often dialing up of the HPSCHD@50 Festival was spaces—is overdue for evaluation. On Cage’s monaural parts with one hand postponed due to COVID-19, this a personal level, having in the last and enjoying a beverage in the other. Champaign-Urbana performance and decade seen how Cage is digested Others sat and chatted. Newcomers the events in Chicago show the kind

Events 83 of care and excitement Cage’s music atic triptych, Gales Creek, Vanport, still inspires in people. I am curious if and Manzanita, were scored for two and how people will stage it in 2044 soprano and baritone voices, piano, and 2069. Perhaps augmented reality and electronics. Patrick Wohlmut goggles simulating some aspects of wrote the libretto. The underlying the enormous crowds of the origi- theme in this work was local action. nal? Perhaps it will be exponentially It could be viewed as site-specific

harder to find a three-dimensional as well, working with environmen- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 harpsichord? Will there be a new mu- tal recordings that accompanied the sical space that Champaign-Urbana’s other players. An interesting sonic music community uses, and if so, with a keynote speaker, helping to feature heard in Manzanita was a how will HPSCHD fit into it? Maybe establish a particular artistic theme. minimal noise layer produced by a future staging will take all evening? Due to coronavirus regulations in the an analog synthesizer. This sound Maybe all of the harpsichordists will United States, New Music Gathering was paired alongside a recording of be on the screens and the electronics 2020 was moved online to Zoom the seaside. In contrast, ending the will be reconfigured using AI for each and Facebook platforms. All of this program was a playful work by Dan performance? Maybe it will stretch year’s concerts, panel discussions, Tramte for saxophones, objects, and for 100 hours to celebrate 100 years of and presentations, as well as social video. Kyle Hutchins’s humorous HPSCHD? One thing is for certain— interaction between those who reg- saxophone performance was featured this piece will live on in some form istered, were roughly expanded to throughout. Most evident was a tight for a very long time. a two-week period. Typically, sub- coordination between the video and mitted proposals for programming soundtrack by Tramte, often high- are selected by Lainie Fefferman, lighting short rhythmic loops. Daniel Felsenfeld, Mary Kouyoumd- Part of the evening concert on 16 New Music Gathering 2020 jian, Jascha Narveson, and Angelica´ June was Bestiary (2018) for piano and Negron.´ As such, even though this fixed media by Kate Moore. The fixed This festival took place 15–30 June event is open to a range of hybrid track meshed well with Moore’s piano 2020 online via Zoom and Face- experimentation stemming from a writing by harmonically amplifying book. For more information visit: Western Classical perspective, the the acoustic instrument. www.newmusicgathering.org. organizers attempted to schedule Most of 17 June’s concert featured selected works and projects based on selections from Jennifer Wright’s Reviewed by Seth Rozanoff a given location’s available resources Obscure Terrain. That work uses her Amsterdam, The Netherlands for production, and in what manner own instrument, which she calls the a proposal supported this year’s artis- skeleton piano. This concert’s version The annual New Music Gathering tic theme. The selections reflected of that work included Takafumi Ue- (NMG) has always been a three-day issues such as partnering with the hara’s projections, and the Agnieszka event, organized around a particular community, youth outreach, place as Laska Dancers. Wright’s work Incog- city’s musical culture “meeting the an artistic focus, improvisation, self- nita, and a piece she cocomposed needs and desires of the community in publishing, and social justice. Regard- with her students, The Battle Cry ways that are increasingly direct and ing works that involve technology, of the Phoenix, were performed. diverse.” In 2015, the San Francisco NMG has become increasingly open These works were produced with Conservatory of Music hosted the to proposals that represent a sound art the skeleton piano as well. Wright’s first gathering. The following years approach. performance setup for Obscure Ter- were hosted by The Peabody Institute Much of the programming for rain used a group of amplifiers, (2016), Bowling Green State Univer- NMG 2020 was in fact a mixture of a mixer, and microphones. Here, sity (2017), and Boston Conservatory works with and without electronic Wright’s skeleton piano adapts the (2018). Each of these years opened sound sources. For example, roughly use of cymbals, preparations inside the second half of the first concert (15 the piano, applied reverb, and digital doi:10.1162/COMJ r 00543 June) relied on technology. These two delay. The electronics used further C 2020 Massachusetts Institute of works were built around prerecorded developed Wright’s sonic trajectory. Technology sound. Andrea Reinkemeyer’s oper- These electronic processes were used

84 Computer Music Journal sparingly, never overwhelming the This work could be viewed as a type performed by the LA Electroacoustic composition. of collaborative site-specific work. Ensemble (LAEE). How To was com- Typical for Wright’s other works On 19 June, Elizabeth A. Baker posed by Cristina Lord, and Becoming that use the skeleton piano are collab- and Nathan Corder’s audiovisual was composed by Marcus Carline, orations with dance, and site-specific work Invisible Seems was featured. both laptop performers of LAEE. works using fixed soundtracks as On that same program, cellist Seth This group tends to improvise with well. The skeleton piano is an upright Parker Woods performed Freida Ab- laptops and custom-built synthesiz- piano that has been disassembled, tan’s My Heart is A River (2020) and ers using Max as their program of Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 exposing the instrument’s sound George Lewis’s Not Alone (2015). The choice. production mechanism. In the work Baker/Corder duo creates an ambient- More performances and installa- Incognita, Wright performs with a leaning sound world. At times audio tions were also found online at the body suit, which seems to allow samples resembling water help to NMG 2020 Gallery. For example, her to further enhance and sustain link the landscape seen in the images. the Kroko Israelsen Duo performed her range of metallic sounds and At other times, a multilayered drone, “Audio Postcards” from their work other delicate textures. The mix- simulating the flow of air in the en- Cabin Radio. That work brings to- ture of subtle electronics, auxiliary vironment, supports the emergence gether interviews, field recordings, metal percussion, and focus on the of a pulse. This background follows and improvisation, composing a piano strings themselves supports the images that move through a se- sonic narrative based around spe- Wright’s sound art approach. The ries of scenes.Abtan’s work not only cific locations in Alaska. The duo skeleton piano project also tends to includes a robust electronic system, describes their improvisation as “na- relate not just to the instrument, but also an immersive visual envi- ture based.” In their work, amplified but the environment and musical ronment. The total configuration of materials such as small parts of pine narrative developed throughout the sound seems to mirror the sequence trees, bark, and other debris found in performance. As such, the adjustable of superimposed images used to form nature were used. Each sonic postcard nature inherent in Wright’s skele- the video immersion. Lewis’s Not highlights a range of environmental ton piano encourages collaboration Alone displays instrumental virtuos- sound heard in places such as An- and openness. Another interesting ity as well as a developed and nuanced chorage and Juneau—forest, ice, and feature in Wright’s setup is that it electroacoustic sound world. Parker river landscapes in particular. These has at times included live video, Woods demonstrated a carefully co- sonic postcards included video of used to further expose the internal ordinated performance, working with the given locations as well. Other mechanism of the piano. Overall, Lewis’s interactive electronic sys- works such as Nicholas Shaheed’s the skeleton piano stems from a tem effectively. Here, the listener Chaotic Substrate seemed to explore need to continue merging the roles can’t help but notice a consistent visualizations of noise-based sonic of composer and performer. Wright’s dialogue between cellist and the material, while Barnes Ryken,an practice also aims to introduce tech- electronics. audiovisual collaboration between nology to younger students, such as On 20 June, JP Merz and the duo composer Nick Norton and video The Phoenix Project documentary. Robin Meiksins and Ralph Lewis gave artist Kelly McGillicuddy, explored This video demonstrates Wright’s presentations regarding YouTube as transformations of color in various educational approach, relying on a composition and performance images. a design-based musical philosophy tool. Merz’s two Compression Stud- As a result of moving NMG 2020 for transmitting musical and so- ies explored writing for networked online, not only were there many cial concepts to her students. This electronics and an additional in- technologically based works, but a di- work shows Wright’s commitment to strument. Merz explored the use of verse social community developed as supporting youth creativity. YouTube’s time-stretching algorithms well. The social connections formed The concert of 18 June featured for constructing new sonic material. during this period are a scenario that Ecology Ensemble’s Sequoia Stand- Meiksins (flute and laptop) and Lewis the organizers of NMG 2020 are now ing. This piece demonstrates a distinc- (laptop) collaborated to produce Duo- interested in extending, possibly dur- tive approach to working with video Tube. This work relies on YouTube’s ing the coming months. The goal here and audio processing, alongside per- keyboard commands for controlling is to continue developing dialogues formances on synthesizer, drum set, playback in real time. The concert around issues of music production electric guitar, saxophone, and voice. of 23 June highlighted two works and online collaboration.

Events 85 2020 SPLICE Institute Evan Williams’s Pralaya followed Wells’s work without pause. This This festival took place 21–27 work explores themes relating to June 2020 online via Facebook destructive characteristics of hu- Live. For more information visit: manity. “Prayala” is the Hindu term https://splicemusic.org. Panel discus- describing the world’s life–death cy- sions and featured performances are cle. This is an audiovisual piece, available for the viewing public at: such as composition, performance, presenting a range of video mate- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 www.facebook.com/spliceorg/live. documentation, and collaboration, rial in support of that concept. The along with concerts. Panel discus- “Introduction” features footage of J. Reviewed by Seth Rozanoff sions and featured performances Robert Oppenheimer’s interview in Amsterdam, The Netherlands were available for public viewing on which he expressed his views of the Facebook Live (www.facebook.com atomic bomb. The piano’s contribu- This year’s SPLICE Institute, con- /spliceorg/live). tion accompanies this footage and ducted online because of the On 23 June, the opening con- its soundtrack. Other footage used COVID-19 pandemic, was gener- cert of the institute was streamed included the bombing of Hiroshima ously supported by Western Michigan live from Keith Kirchoff’s home. during World War II. The second University, allowing for accepted Kirchoff is a pianist and SPLICE co- movement, “Naimittika,” also de- participants to attend for free. This founder who has premiered over 100 picts destruction. Here, a Hindu version featured guest composer new works, specializing in electro- raga melody can be heard developing Nina C. Young, who gave a work- acoustic solo piano performance. throughout. Next, in the “Passacaglia shop on mc for the Max 8 program- The first piece performed was Scott for the Dissolution of All Things,” ming environment. There were other L. Miller’s Katabasis #2.Kirchoff the video again uses scenes from workshops that also related to this arranged Miller’s work, which was Hiroshima. In “Hymn to the World year’s theme: Coding Extensions. originally scored for four unspeci- without End,” Williams composed a Issues covered this year included fied instruments, for piano. For this chaconne based on Gustav Mahler’s introductory concepts in Max and performance, Kirchoff chose to play Urlicht, alongside images of Earth’s SuperCollider; using gen∼, poly∼, the piano strings with EBows and aurora borealis. and JavaScript in Max; IRCAM’s transducers. The mountain landscape seen in OpenMusic; and improvising with Next, without pause, was Sam Prayala (in the video at the end of electronics. Along with SPLICE’s Wells’s Leander’s Swim for piano and the work) is used as a background, core group of faculty, six new pan- electronics. Wells, also a cofounder transitioning to John Luther Adams’s elists were present: composer-harpist of SPLICE, performs regularly with Red Arc/Blue Veil. That work is Becky Brown, composer-musicologist Kirchoff on trumpet and electronics scored for piano, mallet percussion, Flannery Cunningham, composer- as well. Wells’s composition was in- and processed sounds. Matt Sharrock educator Brittany Green, bassoonist spired by Cy Twombly’s 1984 painting accompanied Kirchoff on percus- Dana Jessen, composer JoseMar-´ Hero and Leandro. During this per- sion. Regarding the programming for tinez, and composer Bahar Royaee. formance, Kirchoff chose to include Adams’s work, Kirchoff mentions, Similar to previous Institutes, this a charcoal drawing by Sally Moore, “Red Arc/Blue Veil has always felt year’s workshops highlighted a range which was unscrolled for the online like a mountain to me, rising from of practical concerns about produc- viewers during his performance. The the depths to the highest peaks, and ing electronic music. Again, similar work overall results in a delicate back down to earth. This felt imme- to previous installments, the Insti- mixture of tonally inflected gestures diately relevant to the final imagery tute was organized into categories heard in the piano, along with sub- of Pralaya (a mountain image which I tle digital processing. Wells’s work use as a backdrop for the Adams), and demonstrates an emergent sonic qual- perfectly bridges to the final piece, ity, reminiscent of the pianism one which similarly focuses on the rise doi:10.1162/COMJ r 00541 encounters in works such as Claude and fall of peaks.” The final piece on C 2020 Massachusetts Institute of Debussy’s La Cathedrale´ Engloutie the program was Chen Hui Jen’s Onto Technology (1910). the Silent Peaks. This work does not

86 Computer Music Journal have a video component. However, with a range of tempo fluctuations, configuration of video and sound. the audience is given a bird’s eye view however. Important here is Wells’s attempt to of Kirchoff’s hands while playing. On 25 June, Panel 1, Electro- create a composite of his instrument, Also, this work reflects Debussy-like acoustic Music Tools, was presented. processed images, and sound. Re- extended harmonies heard in the pi- Mediated by SPLICE president Adam garding practical organization, Wells ano, while intermingling with lightly Vidiksis, this panel included guest constructed a system of cues that processed sonorities. composer Nina C. Young, and faculty he follows during performance, each

The 24 June concert was titled and staff members Becky Brown, Flan- corresponding to a particular audio- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 “Adam Vidiksis Presents nery Cunningham, and Joo Won Park. visual behavior. Another important Part<->Link<->Bond.” Vidiksis The following day included Concert element in Wells’s work is his use of performed works live and remotely III, featuring Sam Wells’s Four Winds time-lapse photos and videos, which for percussion and electronics. He (2020). In this final concert, Wells’s he recorded in Gothic Valley, Col- worked with musical guests—soprano evening-length work consisted of his orado. He created a system in Jitter Stephanie Lamprea, Taylor Brook own performing and improvising on that combined processes of noise (electronics), Scott L. Miller (elec- trumpet and electronics, alongside and variable-speed playback of the tronics), Sam Wells (trumpet), Joo video he generated using Jitter in the images. Won Park (electronics), and Rajeev Max environment. Wells’s overall The final event, on 27 June, was Mandela (aka Currency, on electric concept for the work focuses on a Panel 2: Collaborative Relationships drum kit). The concert opened with performance system that allows for in Creating Mixed Media Projects. Vidiksis’s excerpt from The Alter- continually developing performative This discussion was mediated by ing Shores for video and percussion relationships each time the work Elaine Lillios, SPLICE director of with real-time processing. This work is produced. This initial idea stems composition activities. The panelists explores the layering of text against from his desire to form an ecology of included Brittany J. Green, Dana video sequences during Vidiksis’s per- elements—meaning that the electro- Jessen, Jose´ Martinez, and Bahar formance on percussion. The video acoustic performance environment Royaee. part was created by Rod Coover. Ad- and video is inclusive of the perfor- Although SPLICE took place on- ditionally, the piece featured poems mance space. As such, Wells views line this year, it continued its tra- by Nick Montfort. his performance as a type of improvi- dition of supporting participants of The Altering Shores was followed sation that is informed by the space all levels of experience, offering be- by a networked improvisation with in which the work is presented. He ginning and advanced workshops Stephanie Lamprea and Taylor Brook’s describes Four Winds as a “narrative in multimedia software environ- AI-generated electronics. Afterwards, exploration of spaces, internal and ex- ments. Performance workshops were Scott L. Miller’s Long - Short was ternal, defined by air and breath.” He still aimed at encouraging players heard, performed by Wells, Vidiksis, intends for that narrative to emerge to apply their artistic production and Miller. Here, the group’s mu- in real time, guided by his intuitive skills without composers present, sical efforts seemed to result in a musical responses. We might char- for either live or studio scenarios. free jazz–like interplay, while still acterize this process of interaction These workshops took a close look at seeming to explore formal sections. as a type of proliferation, in which electronic music aesthetics, address- Another improvisation with Joo Won a range of relationships, both inter- ing practical and conceptual issues Park and Vidiksis then took place nal and external, is expressed during relating to composition and perfor- with Park performing on a Volca performance. Perhaps the narrative mance. Documentation workshops synthesizer. The last work on the Wells intends to demonstrate in his were also adjusted to address an in- program was another improvisa- work stems from an overlapping of creased online presence, particularly tion with Vidiksis and Raj Mandela, those relationships. Internal could be with respect to video editing. Over- both performing electronics parts. Wells’s process of feeding back sound, all, this year’s Institute successfully This work was relaxed in character where his electronic system manages adapted its educational resources compared with the other energetic large phrases or layers of trumpet to the online environment while performances heard beforehand. At and processed source material. Ex- maintaining the composer-performer times the pace of their improvisa- ternal might refer to the perceived community that SPLICE is known for tion was led by rhythmic grooves, relationship formed by the total facilitating.

Events 87 Recordings heard in isolation, when the album is experienced as a whole, limn allows the compact disc itself to assume a Thomas DeLio: Selected Compo- fascinating macro-structure across its sitions III (1986–2017) 80-minute duration. With the exception of limn (1–6), Compact disc, 2019, NEUMA 450- there are seven works on this col-

120, available from Neuma Records; lection, the first of which is entitled Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 www.neumarecordsandpublications Trois visages. Interestingly, Trois vis- .com. ages [Three faces] constitutes three separate settings, composed between Reviewed by Bradley Green 2005 and 2016, of the same short Washington, DC, USA poem from the collection Pour un tombeau d’Anatole by French poet Selected Compositions III (1986– Stefan´ Mallarme.´ Revisiting or re- 2017) is the fifth in a series of record- working previously used, or written, ings by composer Thomas DeLio substitute for a true surround sound material as a means to offer a differ- released by Neuma Records and Pub- experience, the mixes on this album ent perceptual context is a primary lications (now owned by Innova). This offer a faithful alternative. theme in DeLio’s oeuvre. Each set- series includes three compact discs: Perhaps unique to this installment ting is for percussion ensemble and Selected Compositions (1991–2013), of Selected Compositions, the track soloist (flute, violin, and soprano, Selected Compositions II (1972– order takes on a concept album– in that order) and can be performed 2015), and the present disc, as well like structure that incorporates an individually or as a set. Far too much as two DVDs of multichannel work alternating thread of brief, palate- is written about this work in the (space/image/word/sound I and II). cleansing, almost entirely silent album notes to be successfully sum- With these albums, one is offered a works entitled limn (1–6), of which marized, though the common thread representative journey through 45 each of the six versions are brief between each work is the opposition years of music released by the ever- and occur between each of the other of pitched and nonpitched sonori- inventive composer, and this newest works on the disc. According to the ties, various contrary relationships album is no exception to the sonic liner notes, “limn” means “to draw between the soloist and ensemble sensitivity many have come to expect or paint on a surface; to outline in (especially those involving the text, from DeLio’s work. clear, sharp detail.” The composer which is spoken in both French and Selected Compositions III (1986– expresses a “hope to bring the listener English throughout each setting), and 2017) is a collection of both acoustic closer to the experience of sound the use of spatialization, in which and electroacoustic works, consisting wiped clean, as if existing in some the stereo mix gives a decent im- mostly of percussion and electronics, pristine state; not as an element of a pression, though I imagine some of offering a generous sampling of linguistic, temporal, or timbral evolu- the experience is diluted without a DeLio’s sound-focused style. First, the tion, but as an entity in and of itself.” true spatialized setting (two of these recordings themselves, as well as the Though each iteration of limn is three works are, however, available mastering work by Antonino D’Urzo, intriguing on its own, incorporating in surround sound recordings on the is of exceptional quality. Additionally, both processed sounds and inten- aforementioned DVDs). as spatialization plays an important tional artifacts like amplitude clicks The first setting of Trois visages, role in many of DeLio’s works, some and pops (a common occurrence in entitled et avant / image (2011), was of the tracks that normally contain DeLio’s electronic works), knowing performed by flutist George Pope multiple channels of audio have the composer’s tendency to utilize and the Akros Percussion Collec- inevitably been rendered into stereo form as a fertile ground to affect the tive. The pitch to noise spectrum mixes. Though there is no stereo listening experience, one can safely DeLio uses is apparent immediately, assume that this connective tissue manifesting as various nonpitched doi:10.1162/COMJ r 00540 was implemented intentionally. As percussion (primarily maracas, cym- C 2020 Massachusetts Institute of such, though it is quite possible that bals, and tom-toms) and unvoiced Technology these tracks may have less impact if words pitted against flute, various

88 Computer Music Journal pitched percussion (primarily vibra- In contrast to the previous work of the previously written marimba phone and tubular bells), and voiced is a two-channel electronic setting solo Transparent Wave IV (1999), in words. Additionally, though the flute of a poem entitled by parch reading which DeLio added other pitched part is sparse, existing mainly in the (2016) by P. Inman, a poet who has and nonpitched instruments to the first third of the piece, Mr. Pope’s been a consistent source of influence work, while keeping the original performance is understated, serving on DeLio’s music since the 1990s. marimba part untouched. This re- as an effective catalyst that begins The connection between their styles sults in a surprisingly unassuming the transformation from mostly is neither incidental nor artificial, piece, where each passage emerges Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 nonpitched to pitched sonorities. As as DeLio’s use of sound in regard to out of silence for a brief time be- such, the Akros Percussion Collective perception mirrors Inman’s “intense fore submerging again, usually in gives great attention to the individual focus on language as substance in the form of a decrescendo for the colors, allowing this transformation and of itself.” He further states nonreverberating instruments, or to occur seamlessly. that Inman’s poetry “vivifies the sustain for the reverberating instru- Contrary to et avant / image, et interconnection of language as it is ments, or both. As most entrances absence begins with an extended solo engaged and meaning as it is shaped occur as rolled and notes that slightly performed by violinist Airi Yosh- . . . it does not just talk about the crescendo out of the silence, the ioka. The ensemble (the University world . . . it becomes part of it, a few unannounced accented attacks of Maryland College Park Percussion thing in it.” This piece, like the that do occur throughout are jarring Ensemble under the direction of Lee majority of the electronic works on and poignant, consistently keeping Hinkle) follows with a beautifully this album, utilizes musique concrete´ listeners on their toes. balanced performance that supports techniques consisting entirely of Spuren¨ (2016) and Sherds (for Wes the central role played by the vi- processed and filtered recordings of Fuller) (2017) are two short two- olin. Yoshioka offers an incredibly readings of the text by male and channel electronic works consisting dynamic and colorful performance, female voices, with a third voice entirely of processed sounds. In the which runs the gamut of pitched and used briefly for timbral contrast. The two movements of Spuren¨ , each nonpitched extended techniques, result is an ethereal rendering of the sound was created from samples of including speaking and playing text that, like Inman’s poetry, flirts music from non-Western cultures, al- simultaneously. with concrete meaning without ever though, except for two brief moments The final setting, qu’un espace becoming fully explicit. As such, in movement two, the material is so /separe´ , was performed by soprano some spoken passages are heard heavily processed that a listener will Stacey Mastrian and the University without any alteration, electronic likely not be aware of the connec- of Maryland Baltimore County Per- or otherwise, allowing the listener tion unless told. It seems to me that cussion Ensemble under the direction to focus solely on the words and Spuren¨ (German for “to feel” or “to of Tom Goldstein. It contains the sounds therein, and at other times the sense”) is an apt title, as the piece is only instance in Trois visages where audio is so heavily processed that the as much a physical experience as it is the text is sung melodically. As the textual meaning is obscured. What is aural. Abdicating the more subtle use flute soloist was confined to the first left is sweeping mid-high spectrum of dynamics and contrast as found third of et avant / image,herethe material that is faintly colored by the in the other works, Spuren¨ is more soprano is confined entirely to the inflections of the words and register about harsh and immediate contrasts. last minute of the work, which occurs of the speaker. The processes used to After a frame of silence, the first after a continuity-interrupting span create the sound material of the piece movement opens with a misleadingly of silence. Though Mastrian’s part is are manifold (granulation, filtering, quiet and pleasantly reverberated noticeably brief, her performance is various effects, processing, etc.). No gesture before abruptly bombarding memorable, delicate, and necessarily one filtering technique or device is the ear with high-spectrum tones reserved, especially when juxtaposed favored, so the goal seems to be the mixed with very dry and granulated against the much more aggressive resulting sound and not the technique clicks and pops with bell-like timbres percussion and spoken text. Addi- used to achieve it. underneath, all of which is clearly tionally, the University of Maryland The next piece is a percussion felt as well as heard. What follows is a Baltimore County Percussion Ensem- solo performed deftly by percussion- warm, ocean-like band of noise along ble delivers a dramatic and thoughtful ist Morris Palter, entitled wave / s with other soothing mid-range colors performance. (2002). This work is an outgrowth (which sound somewhat like seagulls,

Recordings 89 to complete the ocean analogy) that cutting around the unprocessed (or These synthesized sonorities function offer a brief respite before once again very lightly processed) reading in a as an extended and transformed decay delving into another physically tax- variety of interesting ways in order to of the opening percussive attacks, ing passage. This harsh and urgent hear individual syllables and mouth constantly layering and panning contrast between discomfort and sounds, or to have the reading exist around the listener for the remainder soothing occurs throughout the piece as a backdrop for the more colorfully of the movement. This is followed and appears to be purposeful, and, as processed excerpts. Additionally, by a more timbrally vivid and turbu- such, though it is short, its brusque- there is a recurring use of a single sine lent second movement, characterized Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 ness makes it stand out from the tone and soft white noise that frame by rapidly pulsating and lightly re- other works on this album. and occupy the spoken sections, verberated sustained tones, and far On the other hand, Sherds,ded- which I assume are to symbolize, more acoustic instruments, includ- icated to composer Wesley Fuller at least in part, the two page types ing the extended use of the piano. and named after his piece Sherds of DeLio mentions in his notes, which Through the first half, this move- Five, is closer to the aesthetic of the is juxtaposed against the concrete ment is much more sporadic than the other works. DeLio states that this representation of the “virtual” pages, previous material. It then delves into is “an examination of the juxtapo- spoken by the poet as “page one,” a quiet, rhythmically static piano sition of wet (reverberated) and dry “page two,” and so on. passage, aimlessly shifting across the (nonreverberated) sonorities,” which The final and earliest piece on instrument’s range and constantly is reminiscent of the noise to pitch the album, Against the silence. . . fluctuating between the fore, mid- spectrum used in Trois visages.Inthe (1984–1985), is scored for percussion dle, and background of the listener’s case of Sherds, the progression stems ensemble and four-channel computer- perception. This culminates, after an- from which type of sound is taking generated tape (again here reduced other long silence, into a final stretch perceptual precedence, as both the to stereo), and is performed by the of the same palpating piano, slower wet and dry sounds occur many times University of New Mexico Percussion and softer this time, which is coarsely in tandem, and the impetus seems to Ensemble under the direction of and regularly interrupted by a very be from moving from a total mixture Christopher Shultis. This is the loud and piercing iron pipe, initially at the beginning (perhaps initially largest work on the album, both in heard in the first movement. Against favoring dry sounds) to wet sounds terms of scope and duration, and is the silence ...isoneofthemore dominating at the end. the only one that combines electronic compelling works on this album, and The penultimate work on this and acoustic forces. It is also the may be the one that appreciates the collection, “decker” (1998), is another genesis of what is likely DeLio’s most during repeated hearings. The electronic setting of a poem by most often discussed compositional economic use of electronic forces and P. Inman, who also supplied the feature: Long stretches of silence noticeable restraint utilized belies reading from which most sounds were between sound events (some almost a the stark juxtaposition of elements derived. The most salient difference minute in duration) used to “rid those apparent between the large sections. between this setting and by parch events of their connective tissue and Additionally, the University of New reading has mainly to do with Inman’s prior sonic identities.” Contrary to Mexico Percussion Ensemble does poem itself, in which “it seems clear works such as by parch reading and a fantastic job bringing depth to that the page has superseded the line wave / s, in which silence is used these structures, blending with the as the most important structural unit functionally as an equal partner to electronics as if it was just another in the design of his poetry.” As such, sound, the silences here instead work member of the ensemble. though his nebulous use of language is to undermine the function of the I have heard some describe DeLio’s still present, the type of page (of which sonic material by challenging our music, and this album in particular, there are two: physical and “virtual”) ability to connect them contextually as being a “challenging” listen. and the placement of words on the in time “without losing the coherence Although I don’t necessarily agree page are now integral structures that of a single connected musical event.” that it is challenging per se, at least Inman, and thus DeLio, explore. The first movement opens with a not in the same way as a John Cage In the piece, the text is filtered handful of percussive sounds followed or Christian Wolff piece may be and processed to create new timbres by a succession of high spectrum challenging (where enjoyment is similar to by parch reading. However, tones with bell-like attacks and the difficult to obtain prior to reading much of the piece is dedicated to sustained colors of additive synthesis. ample notes), it can take multiple

90 Computer Music Journal listening sessions before one begins feedback, piano, and an electric guitar to grasp the minutia of the aural to create the work on Slew Tew. relationships at play, both micro The first piece from this collection, and macro, inside and between the Scanters, uses the highly processed works. There are layers upon layers sounds of a bottle recycling machine of abstract structures permeating to create a texture teeming with the album, and that is before one repetitive, industrial, machinelike considers how the music connects sounds, sounding like a newspaper Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 to Inman’s and Mallarme’s´ texts. It pressroom. The texture sounds like is music that can be enjoyed purely repetitive simple amplitude modula- as a sonic experience so long as tion combined with extremely short listeners do not agonize over what loops. This runs unabated throughout they need not explicitly understand. much of the piece, conjuring up a But it also begs for repeated hearings distinct sense of place, albeit with informed by a close reading of the a degree of ambiguity if you did not liner notes, so that the seemingly know what Dimuzio used for his amorphous structures begin to take and intercepted signal feeds from his sound source. During the last third on a more definite shape, all the collaborators to create music in ambi- of the piece the composer presents while continuing to be captivatingly ent, noise, and post-techno styles. As a long and effective fadeout. Over- elusive. a sound designer, he has worked with all, especially considering its short, synthesizer and processor manufac- 3-minute duration, Scanters comes turers including Kurzweil, Lexicon, across as a torso extracted from a longer composition. Thomas Dimuzio: SLEW TEW— and OSC to produce custom presets and sample libraries, and has played Arc of the Fallen Arch, the sec- A Compilation of Compilation a key role in Avid’s Pro Tools HD ond piece from this collection, is a Tracks 2003–2017 recording system. He also owns and good example of a work whose title Digital download, 2020, runs Gench Studios, where much of describes the formal plan for the available from Bandcamp; his music is created and mastered, piece, while at the same time serving www.thomasdimuzio.bandcamp as well as albums by Negativland, poetic function. To create this piece .com. Limited run compact discs AMM, Doctor Nerve, GG Allin, Dimuzio used crisp, distinctive, ana- are forthcoming. Fred Frith, and Nels Cline. It is fair log sounds from a Buchla synthesizer. to say that Dimuzio represents the Various layers of material collide, Reviewed by Ross Feller electroacoustic version of an auteur. producing a complex, pulsating tex- Gambier, Ohio, USA On 26 March 2020, in the thick ture. These sounds, as a collection, of the global pandemic, Dimuzio gradually move up, and then back In certain circles, San Francisco– released Slew Tew on Bandcamp. down, in pitch, tracing an inverted-U based composer, improviser, sound There is also a forthcoming, limited or arch-shaped trajectory. The highest designer, and engineer Thomas edition, compact disc of the same point in this process comes exactly Dimuzio is a well-known pioneer material. All of the works in this halfway through the piece. in experimental electroacoustic tech- collection were previously released The next piece, titled NG Cycles niques. Since the 1980s his work has on various labels between 2003 and (If I Had a Stomach Pump), begins demonstrated that he is no one-trick 2017. As such, it serves as a kind with a reversed sample followed by pony when it comes to his tools. of retrospective of Dimuzio’s work. soft, menacing, dissonant resonance Dimuzio has used modular synthe- Of the 14 pieces, half were recorded formed by a composite piano, pump, sizers, modified bicycles, circuit bent live. The other half were created and and nasogastric tube sound. The piano toys, field recordings, resonating mixed in the composer’s studio. The portion of this fused sound is used water pipes, loops, shortwave radios, 14 tracks range in length from 2.5 again and again during the piece as a minutes to a little over 13 minutes. formal marker. Each section features doi:10.1162/COMJ r 00539 True to form, the composer utilized what can be described as aperiodic C 2020 Massachusetts Institute of a Buchla analog synthesizer, field percussive sounds, resembling those Technology recordings, bottle recycling machine, found in a churning stomach. These

Recordings 91 are combined with subtle, squishy the name of the industrial noise band nomic, pulse-like sounds appear at sounds likely produced from recy- called The Illusion of Safety, founded the end of the piece, resembling a cled noise. At about 3:55 another by Dan Burke and members of the heartbeat monitor. section begins, characterized by low- Chicago band Dot Dot Dot. Burke Shoil presents a variegated ap- frequency drum, or stretched skin, is a musician with whom Dimuzio proach to feedback processing. At the tones. Identifying whether the piece has collaborated on live and recorded beginning of the piece it sounds as was taken from a live or studio per- material, and had an impact on his if the composer used granular syn- formance is difficult to determine own practice. Dimuzio told me that thesis techniques. Following this we Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 because it contains processing and Burke was responsible for him diving encounter another pitchless noise spatial aspects of both. Gradually, the “head first into modular synthesis.” texture, but this one contains the piece dissipates, followed by a long They both share a predilection for subtle presence of pitched materials fadeout at the end. noisy textures, using everything at in the background, which contribute Abject Light begins with a slowly their disposal to create their music. to an eerie, unsettling sense. The fore- evolving crescendo. As it becomes Chemtrails (3 Different Ones), ground involves a drone that sounds louder, more and more upper partials harnesses and manipulates feedback as if it could have been taken from are added to the composite sound. within a three-part structural form. alarm samples. Shoil ends at 4:53” This time-stretched texture sounds Taken from a live recording made in leaving one with the impression that like it could have been produced by Oakland, it presents slowly evolving, it could have been extended without convolving voice with pitch mate- contiguous textures. At times the losing interest. rials. After about 6.5 minutes we overall level threatens to distort but The ninth piece, Fog Rolls,is hear a muffled voice, along with the somehow never does. Chemtrails is one of many pieces that constitutes continuous drone materials. At the an appropriate name for this piece the $100 Guitar Project, an idea 8-minute mark we clearly hear some- because it largely uses raw sound brought into existence by guitarist- one say, “I can’t breathe,” revealing and pitchless materials to achieve composers Nick Didkovsky and the context for the entire piece. We its effect, which is one in which the Chuck O’Meara. After they initially can think of the title as representing composer manages to weave feedback purchased a $100 guitar, they passed a full, glaring light that is shined sources into a coherent whole. The it on to many other guitarists, who onto an object or scene in order to term chemtrails has also been used subsequently recorded their contri- show the desolation or unpleasant by conspiracy theorists to draw butions on a double-album release aspects of the subject. In this case attention to the possibly harmful on Bridge Records (Bridge 9381A/B). the subject is timely—racist police effects of contrails, what jet airplanes Fifty percent of the album’s proceeds violence. The voice we hear is that of leave in their wake. went to CARE, an organization that Eric Garner, who was choked to death Producing skywriting contrails combats poverty. Fog Rolls uses the by members of the New York Police is one of the things for which the guitar in question to create a piece Department in the summer of 2014, U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels is known. featuring pitched drones that sound on the suspicion of illegally selling Following Chemtrails (3 Different like the strings were activated with an cigarettes. Abject Light is a powerful Ones) is a piece called Blown Angels EBow. At times the results resemble piece after one figures out the context. Blew Angels, a clear pun of the Blue the early collaborative work done by It is “political” in ways far beyond Angels. By the time listeners reach Robert Fripp and Brian Eno as found other, more obvious, works that rely this work (if listening in album or- on their albums Evening Star and upon more overt connections. der) they will be quite familiar with No Pussyfooting. Perhaps the short The fifth work is titled Elegy of Dimuzio’s go-to compositional and duration (2:32) was a requirement Safety. To create this piece Dimuzio processing techniques. Blown Angels of the $100 Guitar Project, but one hung a microphone out of a window at Blew Angels, using field recordings wishes that Dimuzio had released a the crossroad of Sixth Street and Mar- as sources, manages to conjure up longer, more developed version. The ket Street in San Francisco. The result similar textures to some of the other intriguing timbres would seem to call contains compelling amplification of previously heard works, such as a for further treatment. incidental and background noises, continuous, slowly evolving pitchless The introduction to Tire Damage sounding at times like a large water- noise. But in this case, the noises (Car Crash) is captivating. We hear fall. The noise aspect is significant in sound like they were created from extremely high and low frequencies, this piece. The title itself is close to wind and large engine sounds. Metro- simultaneously faded in, providing

92 Computer Music Journal a sense of otherworldliness—distant collection, uses photographs, trans- a sonic fog. At the end of the piece sounds from another galaxy captured lated into sound, for its source mate- we hear a 60-Hz hum that fades out, as radio signals. The low frequencies rial. Judging from the strict, periodic which is a suggestive sound given the gradually move higher and begin to rhythmic layers, the photographs radio as source. become unsteady, like a wobbly tire. could have contained geometric At 13 minutes in length, the last Perhaps I was overly influenced by figures, lines, or grids. The word piece, Song of the Humpbacks,is the explicit title, but I thought I heard “debris” in the title suggests several the longest piece on this collection. screeching brakes, the voices of the scenarios. Perhaps, only parts of each Humpback whales were recorded at Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/43/4/86/1891752/comj_r_00541.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 drivers, and maybe even the first photograph were selected for trans- San Francisco’s Exploratorium. Many responders arriving on the scene. On lation, or the process of translation composers have used recordings of the other hand I wouldn’t be at all itself produced sonic debris, which humpback whales but Dimuzio’s surprised if all of the sounds came then became the piece as it were. piece manages to underscore connec- from an analog, modular synthesizer. Whatever the process of x/y axis tions between whale sounds and brass Like other acousmatic music there assignment was, it certainly produced instruments resembling everything is an unresolved ambiguity regarding a richly endowed and varied compo- from pedal tones to high-pitched source identification. sition. This is also true with respect squeals. For much of the piece we The eleventh piece in this collec- to sonic references. For example, also hear a very soft layer of reso- tion, Phyllocephala (Victor French around 2 minutes into the piece an nance that builds up as more and Mix), contains one of the most diverse arrhythmic, deep, percussive clicking more whale sounds become present, arrays of sound. Named after a pro- sound is superimposed over the other and is also the last thing we hear. As lific, spiky Chinese plant, this piece layers, creating a subtle reference to the piece progresses it becomes clear conjures up subterranean, mechani- avant-garde progressive rock music. that the whales are communicating cal, and tubular sounds, as well as the Unlike many of the other pieces in with a varied palette of evocative sound of flapping wings. The latter this collection, the end of this piece sounds. The large number of wails resembles what you get when you fades out quickly, leaving the listener and glissandi suggests to me that close-mic a large woodwind instru- with the impression that it abruptly this piece can be heard as a lament, ment, performing rapid key clicks. We stops what was a much longer work. perhaps about habitat destruction. also hear vocal and birdsong “chat- The penultimate piece, Fog Music This retrospective collection by tering” timbres in the vein of Paul (excerpt), is an actual torso some- an important electroacoustic pioneer Lansky’s Smalltalk. Phyllocephala what in the vein of Karlheinz Stock- contains some of his most important (Victor French Mix) offers us many hausen’s 1968 work Kurzwellen.The work. It will appeal to those who ap- separate layers sounding at once. It radio source material contains raw preciate sound art, noise, and drones, was simultaneously reminiscent of waveforms that move up and down or anyone who appreciates the in- urban and jungle environments. in pitch and space. The sounds of genuous application of a potpourri of Optisonic Debris, the only pre- voices are distorted or granularized as devices and tools to create convincing viously unreleased work from this if we are listening to a radio through electroacoustic music.

Recordings 93