(Lttge)-The Aesthetic, Art and Science of a Composition for Radio
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CD COMPANION: CONTRIBUTOR’S ARTICLE Transmission Two: The Great Excumion (lTTGE)-The Aesthetic, Art and Science of a Composition for Radio Lamy Austin, Charles Boone and Xavim Sma ABSTRACT The three authors each ex- plore an aspect of Larry Austin’s 1990 extended composition for radio broadcast. Composer-writer Charles Boone examines the work for its musical and dramatic inter- TT:TGE AS HYBRIDART- ments, computer sounds, pre- est and for its significance as a recorded texts-are being heard hybrid of Horspiel, with elements of A LISTENER’S PEMPECTIVE in the same way by radio theater, portraiture and sound col- lage. Its scope, means, intent, reali- Charles Boone listeners, and wonder espe- cially whether the sound mixes zation and compositional approach are elaborated by Austin, the com- HORSPIEL and balances are the same. One poser. Throughout his section, he can imagine audience mem- interspersesaphorisms drawn from Sonic composition conceived to be heard through loud- bers bringing along portable his conversations with the seven speakers is one of the unique and original art forms of the radios, like spectators at a ball protagonists of his ‘sound movie’. second half of the twentieth century. Concert halls were Austin’s collaborator, computer- game, just to find out what music scientist Xavier Serra, expli- assumed at the beginning to be the proper venues for the outside world is, in fact, cates the technicalfieoretical presenting this kind of work, but it was not long before hearing. A comparison of a re- genesis of TT:TGE‘s computer- composers began searching for other options. Morton Su- cording of the live perform- generated speech sounds. botnick, for instance, was among the first to try subverting ance in Denton, Texas, with a such traditional presentation by composing an electronic recording taken from its radio work (SilverAPglesoftheMoon [ 19671) thatwould be available broadcast showed considerable only on a long-playing phonograph recording [l]. This differences, particularly in the sound levels of the texts. In piece was intended to be played on a normal high-fidelity the radio mix these sound levels were significantly higher system in listeners’ homes and in no other way. than in the concert hall mix. In the past decade another idea for bringing original sonic art directly into the home-again, work intended for only this means of dissemination-has begun to flourish. DIALOGUE AS PORTRAITURE This is Hiirpiel, a sonic art form that has developed into something truly indigenous to radio. Hiirspiel, or ‘listen The question of balance among the various materials, then, play’, shortened from the term Neues Hiirspkl, was coined by is extremely important, and the levels of perceptibility seem German radio producer Klaus Schoening, who, since the to have been a key concern for Austin in assembling the late 1960s,has created radio plays by combining sounds and layers of sound. Of course, the recorded dialogues were words in nontraditional collages. Schoening has since central to this consideration since they are the basic building broadened the concept, now calling it .am acustica. It is, as blocks for the entire piece. Because of the nature of the he says, “for ears and imagination” [2]. dialogues, TT:TGE has a fundamental relationship with As the name suggests, there has been a particular flurry documentary reportage, even though the piece is far re- of such activity in Germany, but there are now composers moved from any traditional work in that genre. and other artists involved with sound and theater who are In the final piece, the words operate on two levels: the working on similar projects all over the world. original, purely informational precorded conversations (what I call ‘texts’) exactly as they were spoken; and the fragments of these same texts that Austin processed at TT:TGE Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). Obviously, these processed In terms of its forces and duration, Transmission Two: The fragments (Austin’s ‘sonic furies’) were pushed well beyond Great Excursion (?T:T(;E)(1988-1990) may well be the most comprehensibility into the realm of pure sound. Perhaps ambitious Hiirpieelwritten so far. It is somewhat of a hybrid not so obviously, the unaltered texts often function similarly case, however, in that it must have a concert performance, with all the preparation that implies, in order for the radio Larly Austin (composer, writer, teacher), 2109 Woodbrook, Denton, TX 76205, U.S.A. transmission to be possible. This necessity for a concert Charles bone (composer, writer), 2325 Bear Gulch Road, Woodside, CA 94062, U.S.A. performance of something really intended for radio pre- Xavier Serra (acoustician, musician), Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, Dept. of Music, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. sents a certain ambiguity: listeners in the hall might well Received 12 September 1990. wonder if all the sounds they are hearing-voices, instru- 0 1991 ISAST Pergamon Press plc. Printed in Great Britain. 0961-1215/91$3.00+0.00 LEONARD0 MUSIC JOURNAL, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 8148,1991 81 in that they are not always above the As this brief description shows, the the chorus’s contrapuntal lines-as of threshold of comprehension; sometimes movement has a clearly developed the growth of the texture and the pro- they are crisp and clear (particularly at form. The combination of musical ele- gression from particularity to general- beginnings of episodes), and at other ments with the prerecorded conversa- ity. Perhaps, the traditional A B A‘ form times they blend into the background tions from which these elements were and the use of strict contrapuntal pro- while other musical events take prece- derived is carefully conceived and cedures somehow reflect the academic dence. In traditional documentary such worked out to heighten the musical setting of CCRMA, where Chowning license with a text would be unthinkable. message as well as to make the ‘picture’ does his work. This, however, is only Why, then, did Austin go to the of Ashley somehow a true one. The speculation. trouble of recording all these conversa- mood and spirit of this movement The Jerry Hunt Episode, which fol- tions and then use them in ways that come directly from Ashley’s own work; lows on the heels of the Chowning, often preclude the possibility of their there is a very relaxed quality, studied provides an abrupt and lively contrast. being fully heard and comprehended? in its casualness, that anyone familiar It is a leap from the structure of aca- When we understand that his intention with his music will recognize imme- demia to the freedom and chaos of the in 7T:TGEgoes well beyond the simple diately. The general effect of the world of rap music. Here, there is the transmission of information, we can be- whole episode is almost like sitting in a driving beat of a drum machine from gin to see this work not so much as a crowded bar with a blues piano playing the first measure to the last, in contrast documentary, didactic effort but rather in the background, snippets of many to the absence of pulse that char- as a series of composer portraits on a conversations drifting in from other acterizes the previous episode. The more abstract level-a musical object booths (sometimes heard and some- choral singing of the Chowning Epi- based on the words, ideas and personas times only perceived), occasional laugh- sode is replaced with choral speaking. of a particular group of composers. ter, and a gentle barrage of group noise The singers are assigned rhythmic pat- and other ambient sounds. This is a terns that match fragments of Hunt’s clever musical portrait that transcends spoken text, which are repeated over THEEPISODES the spoken text that was the starting and over for long stretches of time. The The interaction of the unaltered re- point for its composition. clarity of the John Chowning Episode corded conversations and computer- All of the episodes are similarly ex- gives way here to a wild free-for-all that processed sonic furies with the voices of ecuted, using all of the elements-and mounts to a blast of noise. This steady- the chorus and the improvised instru- especially the choral and instrumental state sonic mass does include some mental music of the score is a major elements-to reflect some of the dis- variety as the movement goes on, but element in these portraits. A good ex- tinctive characteristics of each of essentially, it can be heard as a large ample of this amalgamation of diverse Austin’s subjects. The use of textural wave of sound that rolls along until it components is heard in the RobertAsh- material in 7T:TGE is found in a num- suddenly diminishes at the end, like a ley Episode, ‘The ‘I actually wanted to ber of Austin’s earlier works as well. His phonograph that is switched off while buy’ Blues”. The movement beginswith process, here and elsewhere, is gener- the needle is still in the groove. The text keyboard and percussion music. The ally to provide materials (on tape, for in this movement is almost never heard keyboardist improvises in a slow-blues players, etc.) that he then literally well enough to be understood. None- style reminiscent of music in Ashley’s and/or figuratively ‘switches on’ and theless, it is Hunt’s amusing and lively video opera, Perfect Lives [ 31. (The har- lets run, allowing them to interact and monologue (it can be read in the score) monic structure has been laid out for connect, however serendipitously. A that provides the overall character of each part, and audiotapes of slow-blues comparison of the first two episodes- the music, and the quality of his rapid style music that model the intended the John Chowning and the Jerry banter clearly influenced the way in effect have been provided to each per- Hunt-clarifies this and sheds light on which the choral and instrumental former.) Likewise, the percussionist im- the organization of the other sections parts were conceived.