(1934-2006)
mode 185
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(1934-2006) mode 185 |
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Melody, Ergodicity and Indeterminacy
Poem (1955) (2:12) Jos Zwaanenburg, flute Ergodos I (1963) (3:31) computer music Monody (1959) (3:09) John Anderson, clarinet Ergodos II (1964) (4:02) computer music Seegersong #1 (1999) (12:35) John Anderson, clarinet String Complement (with Ergodos II) (1964) (10:27) computer music with violin, viola, cello, bass Seegersong #2 (1999) (12:31) Jos Zwaanenburg, flute Instrumental Responses (with Ergodos I) (1964) (8:48) computer music with flute, bass clarinet, trombone, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, bass, percussion, baritone Ergodos III (1994) (13:49) Frank Denyer and Nora Mulder, pianos Percussion Response (with Ergodos I) (1964) (8:42) computer music with Tobias Liebezeit, percussion Barton Workshop James Fulkerson & Frank Denyer, directors First Recordings James Tenney (1934-2006) was probably the first composer to develop an aesthetic for computer music, realizing that electronic music almost forced the composer to accept noise as "music" and to abandon the idea of absolute control over a composition. He came to accept Cage's passion for randomness, but from a different angle: computer music can be "unpredictable" (rather than "random"). This CD looks at how Tenney persistently asked two questions: "What if?" and "How does it work?" Entitled Melody, Ergodicity and Indeterminacy, it brings an understanding of Tenney's exploration of the act of listening and the factors of composition, of how materials can be assembled, how a composer creates musical continuity. It contains four solos for flute and clarinet which are taken both from some of his earliest works, Poem (1955) and Monody (1959) and from relatively late in his career, Seegersong #1 & 2 (1999). The CD features Tenney's Ergodos compositions (forerunners of minimal music or drones) - instead of a fixed object, the listener hears a process and assembles his own experience from the sounds which have enveloped him. The reel-to-reel source tapes for Ergodos I and II are unique in that they may be played in either direction, beginning and ending at any point and/or with any number of super-impositions of parts (channels). On this CD, both Ergodos tape pieces are presented along with the tape and its STRING COMPLEMENT, INSTRUMENTAL RESPONSES (10 performers) and also with a percussion soloist (PERCUSSION RESPONSE). Like so many of Tenney's pieces, these works walk a line between the composers input and the choices of the performers in order to come to fruition. Tenney's conscious inclusion of the performer's input is a consistent characteristic of his music and remains a factor which distinguishes him from many other composers. Reviews: James Tenney Melody, Ergodicity and Indeterminacy The Barton Workshop Mode 185  James Tenney was an American experimentalist who died two years ago at the age of 72. The earliest works on this disc, pieces for solo flute and clarinet written in the 1950s, hark back to the manners of the early 20th century. Within a few years, in the early 1960s, Tenney was exploring the statistics of ergodicity in pieces written for computer ( Ergodos I & II), which can be played forwards, backwards, wholly, partially, separately, or overlaid - the disc offers the works individually as well as in combination with other instrumental pieces. It's the purely instrumental works (which include two Seegersongs from 1999 and the Cagean Ergodos III of 1990 for two pianos) that make the strongest impression in this fascinating collection. --- MICHAEL DERVAN, Irish Times, 15 February 2008 Related Resources: The Barton Workshop profile |
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