Passing Tones : Meg's Reich2Radiohead Blog

Throughout the canon of music there have been many composers who have used folk music in there compositions but none so prominent as Bela Bartok. The early ethnomusicologist was innovative in the study and usage of folk themes he discovered while researching the people in portions of Eastern Europe. He not only document but used the folk themes and songs in his own compositions. In class we listened to Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta. A fabulous soundscape of a work that integrates some of these folk themes as well as the majority of the piece being based on the Fibonacci Series: 11235.

Now, what makes me jump back in curiosity about the piece is the use of antiphony. Bartok divides a classical and a folk ensembles on either side of the stage letting the two have an interplay with each other. Antiphonal pieces are not new they have been around forever. A classic example is the good old Monteverdi Vespers, the two choirs play off of each other going back and forth and so on. There is something amazing about the antiphonal texture, that gives depth and range to a piece that cannot be achieved with an ensemble in one place. Now, this is getting into acoustics but when a sound comes from many sources more sounds are produced from echos and other sounds form by bouncing off the structure of the space it is being performed in. With two or more ensembles playing simultaneously as well as the lines imitating, repeating and bouncing off of each other there is bound to be even more sound experimentation/creation happening within the performance space.

Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta is overall a very haunting piece. In class we observed a Graphical Analysis of the first movement which was so complex and confusing but made so much sense. The first and second parts are a slow ethereal ascent to the climax of the piece that descends in the subsequent parts. Bartok intertwines folk themes throughout the work as well as having the aforementioned interplay with the folk and classical antiphonal ensembles. The second movement is jumpy and spotlights the percussion more than the first in the sonata form, and uses folk themes more. The third keeps on the same energetic pace with interplay between strings and celesta and is accented with percussive breaks. This movement also uses the Fibonacci Series throughout. The final movement in rondo form emphasizes even more quick percussion mixed with pizzicato strings.

Jump to modern day with the multi-ethnic composer Tania Leon. She hails from a background of folk music but was trained at the conservatory in Cuba. Leon mixes both classical compositional methods with the folk sounds she grew up with. Tania's one of the most exciting composers in the US today her works are really starting to pop up in the concert halls everywhere. In class we listened to Ritual off of her disk Indigena. This was a very interesting piece that was atonal yet the rhythm varied much like folk music.

Not much new this week.

Bartok - Music for Strings Percussion and Celesta
Leon - Indigena

Sigur Ros- Takk, ( )
Radiohead - OK Computer, Meeting People is Easy
Paul van Dyk - Out There and Back, Reflections, Global
My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans

(I think my listening habits are becoming repetitive...)

Serialism is something I have always skirted around within my research and understanding of twentieth century music; I knew its basic principals but not exactly how it worked. This class opened up the serial door to me. I find this compositional method to be almost mathematical in its practices yet very logical at the same time. I am finding parallels between periods, though separate entities some characteristics are similar, especially the twentieth century and the mid Renaissance to the mid Baroque. I am studying both periods currently and I keep on making these connections. Of course the earlier periods were quite different, a common temperament was not yet solidified, complex counterpoint was more or less their 'serial music' of the time. Both periods were revolutionary and changed music forever. And i would (in a later longer argument) would like to contest that some composers of the late Renaissance and early-mid Baroque exercised an amount of complexity in their music that rivals that of the methods used by composers in the early twentieth century.

In class we were introduced to Serialism and its methods. Tone row, retrograde, inversion, and retrograde inversion. We all went off in little groups to construct our Tone Rows and their retrogrades and inversions. The twelve tone matrix website was great, that could be quite helpful if I feel like some day composing some serial music. The whole idea of not repeating a pitch before another one is used reminded me of how the isorhythms work. Both function in a circular motion of not repeating what came before it until the entire row of notes or phrase is over. Yet another connection to methods of the past. I became frustrated with figuring out the inversion of the tone row and came to find it was on the twelve tone matrix, whoops! Nonetheless I walked out of the experience rather confused but willing to tackle the subject at a later time. The other groups came up with some very interesting little compositions using their tone rows. Something I noticed was that even though each of the twelve notes might be juxtaposed differently in each composition they all made sense (aurally) and sounded as if the piece was supposed to fit that way. Serialism has really caught my interest and hopefully someday Ill be able to analyze some serial pieces in-depth.

The second part of the class was on the pioneering women in music. This made me think about how in rock music, and other genres of music for the sake of this argument, seem like there are very few major women figures. In rock especially it is the boys club, the girls are the ones in the audience screaming. When the stereotype is applied the perspective is: there are some girl bands but of course their music isn't as good or they lack something, maybe they just can't rock. I have witnessed only a few women rock musicians on the stage and I can say that the intensity is there in just a less aggressive form, and in some cases just as aggressive as the guys, so what's the difference! I have always been rather disgusted with the issue of this stereotype: the 'rock chick.' Women need to be able to hold their own in this genre, they hold their own in classical, pop, country (i dare say...), etc, why so few! Bjork, Melissa Auf der Maur, D'Arcy, Kim Gordon, the Indigo girls, Joni Mitchell, Janice Joplin, Joan Baez, Ani Difranco, Imogen Heap, the Donnas, PJ Harvey, etc. though this is a small excerpt of the list of women in rock it is limited compared to the amount of male musicians in rock music. This is one of those subjects that could possibly be discussed for months on end continuously. Its only the beginning for women in rock and other genres of music as well. With each generation there will be more and more women interested in getting involved in the rock scene.

Playlist for the past weeks...
Scriabin - Piano Concerto in f# minor op.20
Chopin - Ballade in g minor op.23
Messiaen - Turangala Symphony, other works as well...
Franck - Prelude, Choral and Fugue
Ives - Violin sonatas, Three Page Sonata
Ravel - Piano works (alot of them...)
Sigur Ros - Takk
Sondre Lerche - Two Way Monologues
Tristeza - A Colores
Cave In - Jupiter

In the last class we had a pleasant surprise of going way back in time. We went back to the early 19th century to visit our dear revolutionary friend Beethoven. Beethoven (some believe) marked the beginning of the push for the modern era. A line was drawn through the ideal of repetition. How Beethoven used repetition in the 2nd mm. of the 9th symphony in a way is the same usage of repetition in a Reich or Antheil work. I found this to be very fascinating epiphany that was brought onto the table by Jackson in his blog then to Steve, but the ideas and connections seemed to be flowing like a rushing river and sometimes when the flood hits it topples you over. I found myself skeptical to this claim wanting to challenge it. What is different with composers before this? What about repetition there? Well, I finally found it, Monteverdi, Eureka! (and I have no doubt there are many other composers before hand who also fit into this theory)! There is repetition everywhere and what I have formulated is that we have three compositional periods here, all revolutionary in their own right all times where the 'norm' was rebelled against. 20th, 19th and 16th century periods was where music was challenged and the parallel between all three can be found in repetition.

In Monteverdi's works from the first decade (and onwards) of the 16th century we find the way that he uses, repeats and imitates voices creates a strong effect of repetition. In Lauda Jerusalem from Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 we can see the antiphonal interchanging of parts between the two choirs. The second choir repeats the same phrase as sung by the first choir sometimes only repeated in two measure intervals, but enough to make the voices shift and create an emphasis on repetition. With Beethoven we see the repetition of phrases and certain melodies reoccurring throughout the movement. Each of the sections that repeats creates a return to familiarly and reminds the listener of the main intent of the piece and the emotional direction and connection Beethoven creates. Now, what we deal with in the 20th century with the primitivists, experimentalists, and especially the later minimalists is a complete domination of the idea of repetition with very little variation which differs from the original two examples greatly. To attack minimalism is like attacking a sleeping animal; its harmless to look at and think about but to jump ontop of it is an entire other barrel of monkeys. Repetition over and over in different parts at times phasing back and forth it is amazing how sound at times becomes almost mathematic. Minimalism seems incredibly simple, the same thing repeating, but its structure is so complex.

I find myself going back to my post from last class, contemplating repetition and its progression through time and music. It seems like there has always been repetition in music, from the very beginning of cave man hitting something over and over to a mashup, or a minimalist work, even the latest single on Pop radio. Repetition is everywhere and it always has been, but now more than ever it seems like as humans we want 1. Things in order 2. Familiar things 3. Things repeated. If we like it we want more of it; we like a song we listen to it over and over again, we hear new things each time even the meta-music idea begins to happen. This is exciting to humans, we like this we are hardwired to repeat things; it makes us happy and gets us through life. Of course now I am making my points black and white, and also repeating a few things I said in my last post, but it must be stressed. And now I have another idea, repetition for understanding. Its how we learn, its how we live. Why didn't I think of this before?! We as humans need to do things over and over to learn, if it is learned wrong it must be done the right way X-number of times to be unlearned and learned again. Repetition is intuitive to humans, a necessity to living.

We also watched the video for George Anheil's Ballet Machnique. Overall the video's images were extremely repetitious almost matching the intensity of the repetition created in the music. At times it was almost hard to watch it due to the quickly changing frames. The emphasis of the rhythm of machines was also quite important and stood out from the other images. I believe it was the intention of the filmmaker to create an uneasiness within the viewer, it matches the sound perfectly. I was also drawn in by the primitive effects that were used. In one of the images a girls face was used and she basically took a piece of dark paper or cardboard and waved it around in front of her face to create the effect as if the space was changing around her it was really interesting and captured my attention.

This Weeks Music:
Course Music:

Beethoven's 9th Symphony mm.2
George Antheil - Ballet Machinique

Music for personal listening (related to course):

Jamie Cullum - Catching Tales

Various - Reich Remixed

Slipknot - Vol. 3..., Slipknot, Iowa etc
As I Lay Dying - Frail Worlds Collapse, Shadows are Security

The twentieth century strikes me as one of the most innovative, fast-paced, and technologically advanced centuries ever known to man. In a discussion with my two other colleagues in Music Seminar I found myself defending the century in two parts the first half including the World Wars, and a second part following the wars up until the Millennium. But, then I found myself sub dividing these parts into different musical genres as well, describing how the first half of the century is essentially repeated in the second half but in an entirely different form. Though it might not make sense in this short explanation my reasoning is based on the principle of repetition. My passion to crack this century is boundless and I find myself trying to find a place, a reason, an explanation for anything in this past century; but, to find myself comparing (within some reason) minimalism and other modern compositional methods at time to earlier music, such as what we are studying in this other class, made me realize that music like most things tends to repeat itself, over and over again. I found myself comparing the transition of renaissance music into the baroque to the social response and basic transitional change that happened at the turn of the twentieth century. More or less as time, actions, thoughts, sounds, reactions, and life overall, to some degree, repeats itself we constantly see a cycling of everything.

The earth revolves around the sun. The seasons change and return. The sun will rise, and will plummet into the horizon at the end of the day only to rise again. Much like our need for sleep we fall into a state of quasi-unconsciousness only to wake in the morning (sometimes) a new. The blood is pumped through arteries and veins throughout the body over and over producing sound as well. And I ask the question once again much like Susan McClary did: Why are we so bent on emphasizing repetition in our lives in the twentieth century and now still in the twenty-first?

And with a small amount of contemplation and reasoning I can only come up with one answer. This isn't a new question. Humans have been asking it over and over and over again for centuries. Of course with the term minimalism it is incredibly apparent that the music is based on the idea of repetition and this is the intention of the composers. Is it a self-actualization of the general population of the world in the span of time until now and especially in the twentieth century that the functions of humans have a cyclic harmony with nature, the environment around us, basically anything on the earth? Humans love familiarity, a comfort place, something to call their own, in minimalism at first the introduction to the repeating phrase, wether it being rhythmic or melodic, is new at first but after a while it is familiar and inviting. I know this is digging deep but could the entire idea be connected by the string theory? Everything connected by little tiny vibrating strings.

And now, i find myself coming back to my original intention of this post: Minimalism. Reich, Glass, Riley, Gann, etc. all have/had a mission to create music in a very repetitious, cyclic form that not only represents simplicity but complexity as well. Again I find a cycle, it seems that when ideas, or anything becomes too simple or too complex at some-point it will eventually repeat itself and become its exact opposite. The evolution of human thought is like this. As we are younger something can be difficult to learn it, but when we do learn it we can build upon this knowledge and learn something more complex. What was once complex is now simple, the cycle goes on. When one listens to minimalist music on the surface it seems like, wow its going over and over - thats hrm, interesting, broken record syndrome? NO, this cyclic repetition as you listen to it changes, if listening intently, ones interpretation of the same melody, or rhythmic pattern combined can change many times into different interpretations of the same material. When we were listening to In C by Terry Riley I found that the repeating phrases would morph in my ear into different sounds or different tempos at times. The brain will interpret things differently each time one experiences it, minimalism is almost like a sensory overload of repetitious statements that are meant for hyper-interpretation and an almost trance-like experience.

In C was an interesting adventure into repetition and realization. When listing to a minimalist piece at times you can either get drawn in completely into a dreamy trance or you can let its notes fall around you like rain in a way, its there but you pay no attention. I found myself gripped for attention at times and then ripped away into watching the rain fall. I am going to definitely get the entire piece so I can experience it all. My only critique for a piece like this is that it is around 45 minuets long. To hear just a short excerpt of a piece that three-quarters of and hour long is a little hard to judge. In C seems like one of those pieces that you drop everything put on a set of headphones and just listen straight for 45 minuets motionless taking it all in.

Steve Reich was the highlight of the class for me. I absolutely love Reich's works and are completely drawn in by them. It's Gonna Rain was a great example of Reich's classic style. Reich has his own sound that sets him uniquely apart from other Minimalist composers. It's Gonna Rain brought up some thoughts which I wanted to elaborate upon. The work is based on a tape loop of a recording of an african american religious speaker. Reich has a connection to African rhythms, he studied African drumming in Ghana. In most of Reich's pieces there is a large emphasis on rhythmic repetition that is based on these methods of African drumming and rhythm. When listening to this piece I also made a connection to a song my A Northern Chorus by the name of Mombassa. Much like It' Gonna Rain, there is an african american/canadian (that is up for speculation at this point) speaker who is passionately speaking on religious topics. This looping of the speaker is mixed in with an instrumental part from the band itself, its and interesting song. Here is the iTunes link: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=77930710&s=143441&i=77930523

I also have been listening to Reich Remixed, an album where some of Reich's major works are remixed by some of the worlds best electronic DJs. After one listen I was hooked. Track 5, The Megamix (iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=73237384&s=143441&i=73237223) is mix of Reich's hits in one song and it is incredible. Somehow all of Reich's works (through great mixing as well) work flawlessly together, maybe this is because of their repetitious quality. Nonetheless the album is a fresh and interesting look at Reich's works through a genre that spawned from the influence of minimalism.

This Weeks Music:

Course Music:

Terry Riley - In C
Steve Reich - Its Gonna Rain Pts. 1&2

Music for personal listening (related to course):
Jamie Cullum - Catching Tales
Various - Reich Remixed
Glass - Einstein on the Beach
Danger Doom - The Mouse & The Mask
Brian Eno - Music for Films
Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself
Frou Frou - Details
Radiohead - Airbag/How Am I Driving EP (US and Japanese versions)
John Adams - Shaker Loops
Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism, Plans

While flipping though the July 05 edition of the Wire I came across an interesting article by Yelena Chernova on the electronic music scene in Kieve, Ukraine. It seems like the Ukraine is known in the Western world for things like gymnasts and hockey players but there is a huge upcoming electronic and experimental music scene to be found in in the buzzing capitol city. Overall the article compares Kieve to an old Soviet comedy The Diamond Arm. This comedy is about an economist who studies abroad and everyone thinks he went to New York City, but the chap only went to Istanbul. The extended metaphor which is created relates Kiev to being a diamond in the rough; a very European, yet Russian city. This culture combination or what the article states as being "a country of contrasts" or in this case a "city of contrasts" has to offer is just ready to be dug up and discovered. In this case its Kiev's innovative music scene.

Chernova primarily focuses on an experimental electronic music festival by the name of Detali Zvuku or Sound Details. The festival was started in 2000 by Kiev sound pioneer Andre Kiritchenko. Kiritchenko also formed the label Nexsound which is an amazing little label. Some notable Ukrainian composers/sound artists who were mentioned (and some are on the Nexsound label) are Kotra, Paul Kust, Alla Zagaikevych, OK_01, Akuvido, I/Dex, FRUITS, and Dutch Staalplaat Soundsystem. The festival went on for 14 hours of non-stop experimental electronica, that had to be amazing. All of these artists have combined and met not only on this occasion but also in concerts combined with the Kiev Musical Academy. Each of these concerts had different themes introducing not only the electronic music of the Ukraine but also other European music forms such as: Russian Noise (Ru.NOISE), Polish experimental, and Swiss improvisation (Swisound). I found this to be very very interesting. There are tons of different musical scenes sweeping Europe that I am highly interested in finding out more on (hopefully Italian scenes!).

Ukrainian Sound Artists and Composers have to deal with the hardship of a government that does not fund the arts as much as other countries do. What it comes down to is that these Artists do this because it is their passion. To be an sound artist in the Ukraine you must do it all - meaning make the sounds record it yourself then publish it yourself. If you visit Nexsound this is a fine example of dedication and passion for music. This is a self-run label. The larger record companies are not accessible in the Ukraine. Most people cannot afford an expensive major-label-produced CD so the Ukrainians thrive on the Bootleg. The US labels have cracked down on all the Bootlegs and have essentially removed all but a few Bootleg companies in the Ukraine causing the accessibility to music to be very limited to the general public. Kiritchenko and his label Nexsound are attempting to change that with their own personal drive to create and supply innovative music to the masses.

On the Nexsound site you can listen to full MP3 excerpts from new albums listed on the Catalog page. I listened to a few songs by Andre Kiritchenko, Alla Zagalkevych, and the group Kotra. I was highly impressed with Kiritchenko's efforts on his latest disk True Delusion. Kiritchenko has a signature soundscape of minimalism as well as atmospheric ambience. On one track, Illusion of Safety an ostinati of piano repeats over and over as other 'found' noises and other layers of piano are mixed in almost to the point they are coinciding rhythms. At times I wonder if I am listening to early (but much slower) Sigur Ros. Another track, Scope of my Perception, follows the idea of the previous track but creates a soundscape of a guitar line mixed with what it sounds like a person rustling around inside a house doing chores that finally turns into a drone of tones as well as static and faint rhythmic guitar plucking. These sounds are highly distorted and manipulated. Alla Zagalkevych's composition Heroneya is a true example of modern electroacousic music. Zagalkevych bases the pieces on algorithmic composition. One can tell when listening it sounds like serial music, I though oh Schoenberg or Berg! Heroneya begins as an interplay between cello, piano, violin and other instruments and then by the end of the piece it turns into a blur of electronic static with the remains of the original instrumental sounds lurking in the thick static soup. The selections I picked from Kotra off their album Dissilient are hair-raising examples of quasi-modern musique-concrete electronica (for lack of a better explanation). Each of the Minus works (there are 3 on the site) remind me exactly of Never Again on Zorn's Kristallnacht. They all have high-frequency sounds which effect the listener in startling ways. The description for the music even said "Difficult but impressive listening," they were right!

This Weeks Music:
Course Music: 

Eno - French Catalogues (I can't get over this piece!)

Wire Music:
Andrey Kiritchenko - True Delusion
Kotra - Dissilient

Music for personal listening (related to course):

Deerhoof - Green Cosmos (The song: Spiral Golden Town is astounding!), Apple O'
Psapp - Cosy In The Rocket (the theme to Grey's Anatomy, killer song and band!)
Jamie Cullum - Catching Tales
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
Jimmy Eat World - Stay On My Side Tonight EP
Radiohead - The Bends
Matt Haimovitz - Goulash! (Unbelievable Cello playing combines Led Zeppelin, Bartok, Ligeti and his own compositions, which are highly influenced by said composers, on one album.)
And of course more than half the stuff already listed in previous playlists.