CSM 13: De Haan / Schiemer/ Vine / Leak
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Item type: Item , Access status: Open Access , Graham Hair: Colours of Rain and Iron (1979)(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1979) Composer: Graham Hair; Cobbin, Peter"This work is what might be called a chamber symphonic poem, a single movement fantasy piece related in some ways to a literary program. Colours of Rain and Iron is based on Salvatore Quasimodo 's poem of the same name. Unlike the nineteenth century symphonic poem, this one uses the chamber ensemble instead of the orchestra as medium and the lyric poem instead of the narrative as program. The music traces its relation to the program circuitously through the text instead of in sequential order. Several of my recent pieces have explored the notion of formal design premised upon maximally heterogeneous material, a notion encapsulated in such musics of the past as the gothic motet or the early baroque canzona. Stravinsky' Symphonies of Wind Instrumerets is perhaps it most notable twentieth century manifestation. Colours of Rain and Iron essays some extensions and elaborations of this kind of design, to create a labyrinthine form in which no single character, texture or tempo predominates, but in which many, contrasting ones are meshed together in interlocking block, sometimes set off against one another in stark juxtaposition or superposition. This diverse musical material has its origin in the sharply contrasting natures of the four instruments for which the keyboardist's part is scored: there are four basic repertoires of pitch and rhythmic configurations, which unfold at different rates and according to different principles. The trombone writing takes up this quadruple aspect of the material, adapting, concatenating and counterpointing. As material originating on one instrument is transferred to another, the growth of new qualities and shapes is triggered." -- Graham HairItem type: Item , Access status: Open Access , Simone De Haan: Major C (1980)(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1980) Composer: Simone de Haan; Cobbin, Peter"Major C consists of a C major chord, the individual notes of the chord recorded in real time ( although some tracks were recorded at slow speeds), and multi-tracked to create a massive layer of sound. The process was primarily concerned with creating subtle changes in timbre, attack and intonation within the overall sound of the chord. Major C was initially recorded at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in 1980." -- Simone de HaanItem type: Item , Access status: Open Access , Martin Wesley-Smith: Pat-a-Cake (1980)(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1980) Composer: Martin Wesley-Smith; Cobbin, Peter"Children's rhymes and their accompanying tunes tend to be very simple. Because they are based on the rhythms and intonation f.speech they often.repr~sent examples of playground refinement: music in which constant use has eradicated any inessential adornment. Like hymn tunes they conform to conventional notions of a theme for variation: that is, stripped down source material with unlimited potential for expansion or embellishment. Wesley-Smith's Pat-a-Cake for solo tenor trombone and tape takes the first three notes of its namesake song as its musical point of departure. These notes consist simply of an arpeggiated major triad in a triplet pattern. That the work never proceeds past these three notes is a measure of the potential Wesley-Smith is able to find in the most basic of source materials. For much of the work WesleySmith treats the triad in such an obsessive manner that the characteristic sonorities and textures are entirely saturated by its statements and transformations. The tape part of the work was created on the Fairlight CMI. Wesley-Smith has worked with the Fairlight in much of his recent music, including For Marimba and Tape and Snark-Hunting. The transparent, diatonic textures and metrically articulated rhythms of these works are also apparent in Pat-a-Cake. At its premiere Pat-aCake was given with live performance on the Fairlight. The tape part was subsequently recorded in the form heard on this disc; it is quite restricted in its choice of sonorities and most sounds used resemble or are modifications of the trombone's timbre. This is not surprising, given that the work was composed in 1980 in the early days of digital sampling. This technique, in which live sounds are 'sampled' and electronically imitated, was pioneered by Fairlight. The similarity of tape and trombone sonorities is also reflected in the work's structure. The tape part often imitates and repeats the trombone's interjections and is the primary determinant of texture and continuity in the work. The sameness of material in a monothematic work can make sectional divisions rather unclear. To some extent this is the case in Pat-a-Cake. Despite the exuberant rhythmic activity, the piece is quite static. Broadly speaking, Pat-a-Cake consists of an introductory section followed by four stanzas or variations, built on repetitive patterns drawn from the triadic figure. The work opens with a fanfare-like statement of the triad. The music in the introductory section is disjunct and hesitant, with sudden accumulations and dispersals of sound surrounded by lengthy penods of silence. Some elements are presented in their rawest form here; especially significant is the accumulation of arpeggiated thirds to form chords and an insistent, but normally short lived and rapid repeated note figure. Both elements appear throughout the work, particularly as a cadential gesture at the end of the four subsequent sections. The material that follows the opening section at times suggests the repetition based patterned music of minimalist composers such as Steve Reich or Louis Andriessen. Unlike much minimalist music, however, the work does not consistently present a gradual process of evolution. Instead, minimalist techniques are used as a constructional device. The four 'variations' on the triad have a common structural formula consisting of (a) a simple statement of the triad by trombone, (b) the imitation of first and subsequent trombone patterns by tape, (c) an increase of harmonic, rhythmic and textural density, and (d) a cadential gesture, returning to (a). Variations one and two are most alike; in three and four, the longest variation, varying rhythmic shapes proliferate. Composers of stereo tape music have at their disposal an· element additional to pitch, duration, timbre and volume - that of space. It is this feature that in some ways dominates Pat-a-Cake. The sounds on the tape are in a constant state of physical motion. The trombone remains solidly in the centre. At one point in the fourth variation a quick, repeated triad on the tape is presented in the centre of the loudspeakers. The pattern is then panned outwards to left and right speakers, revealing that what sounded as one pattern is, in fact, two. Later, WesleySmith's separation of space allows the original and the retrograde forms of the triad to be heard simultaneously. This separation of left and right, forwards and backwards, is in turn mirrored by a rhythmic dislocation of the two lines, which produces a hocket effect. Analogies with children's games are hard to avoid. This is as much apparent in the playful, rather sardonic nature of the piece, as it is in its derivation of source material from children's songs. Many of the fast spatial effects may be likened to the skipping or hand clapping games that might accompany a child's performance of Pat-aCake. Yet, as in the work of Lewis Carroll (whose works Wesley-Smith has frequently set) the childlike, apparently naive exterior often conceals twists of reality and looking-glass illusions. The use of stereo space is at times like an optical illusion - what we hear is not necessarily what we think we are perceiving, as it is often in the process of becoming something else. The moralising duchess of Alice in Wonderland has expressed it better: .. the moral of that is - 'Be what you would seem to be' or, if you'd like it put more simply - 'Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise'." -- Andrew SchultzItem type: Item , Access status: Open Access , Larry Sitsky: Kundalini: The Serpent Fire. Concerto for trombone with keyboards and percussion (1982) - I Pranayama; II Pratyahara; III Dharana: IV Dhyana; V Samadhi; VI Kundalini(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1982) Composer: Larry Sitsky; Davies, John"Larry Sitsky has written numerous concertos for various instruments and instrumental combinations, and in all these works the virtuoso aspect is greatly stressed. Kundalini was commissioned by the Flederman ensemble, and Sitsky wrote the trombone part for Simone de Haan, the leader of the group. The accompaniment was to be provided by only two players, but used a variety of instruments. The concerto is in six sections, each of which is scored for a different set of accompanying instruments. Apart from the third section, after which there is a break, all the sections flow into one another so that the work is really in two movements. The titles of the sections have been taken from Yoga disciplines and are not meant to be programmatic or descriptive, but rather a suggestion of the poetic impulse that gave the work its genesis. Kundalini refers to man's latent psychic energies often depicted symbolically as a sleeping serpent. The other names are steps in the discipline of unleashing the source of this tremendous energy. The six sections and accompanying instruments are as follows: I Pranayama: Small and medium tam-tams, vibraphone, wind machine. II Pratyaluira: Suspended cymbals, guro, harpsichord. III Dluirana: Xylophone, electric organ. IV Dhyana: Side drums, tom-toms, timpani, piano. V Samadhi: Glockenspiel, celeste, piano. VI Kundalini: Woodblocks, large tam-tam, piano. Although a large part of the Concerto is a fairly traditional exploitation of the virtuoso capabilities of the trombone, Sitsky has borrowed much from his The Fourteen Days of Bardo Thodol: Sonata No. 2 for solo flute. In this work, written in 1979 he exploited the microtonal possibilitie of the flute, using Tibetan Buddhist chant as a basis. Since the trombone is an ideal instrument for varying pitch, he decided to use the chants again in this concerto. Tibetan chants move very slowly. Two striking features of the chant, namely its constant portamento and the humming sound, are incorporated here. The chant is based on the five; small cells which appear in Figure 87. Some of the other material of the concerto comes from a lengthy chordal row which contains numerous clusters. The chant, which is a transposed version of the original Tibetan Buddhist chant, is heard in its purest form at the beginning and at the end of the concerto. In Pranayama, the tarn-tarn sound marked ppp is established before the trombone, using a cup mute, enters non-vibrato. A portion of the chant is now presented in a slow, hypnotic manner with slow glissandi after each note. Ends and beginnings of glissandi are preferably microtonal, and much rubato is to be employed. The trombone alternates non-vibrato technique with vibrato technique, and the player is required at times to sing with the note, thereby creating beats. While the chant is being presented in this pure form, the tarn-tarns provide a continuous accompaniment, using very soft sticks, with a few interjections from the wind machine off stage. Upon the entry of the vibraphone, the rhythmi freedom disappears and the trombone presents the five cells of the row complete ( see Figure 88). For the remainder of this section, the trombone continues the chant in the same manner as at the opening, but now with smooth and elegant embellish- · ments. During this, the vibraphone closely follows the trombone. The second section, Pratyahara, is introduced by the harpsichord with full registration, using chromatic palm clusters in both hands, followed by elbow clusters. With the entry of the trombone leggiero (using a Harmon mute), the harpsichord provides a fast semi-staccato semiquaver accompaniment derived from the chordal row, which moves from one hand to the other. Throughout this second section the writing for the trombone is quite varied and the harpsichord displays several textural changes which are enhanced by the numerous rhythmic and tempo changes. A right hand glissando across the keyboard concludes this section. A great amount of tension, which has been gradually building up-throughout the-previous section, culminates in Dharana. At the commencement, marked dramatico, unmuted trombone and xylophone engage in a lengthy dialogue. Much material is shared between the two instruments: at times they play similar figurations and at one point the linear row passes back and forth from one instrument to the other (see Figure 89). With the entry, marked lento, of the electric organ, the trombone plays quasi recitativo and continues in this manner to the end. Manual II of the organ uses a basic registration for a series of chords derived from the chordal row, while Manual I has a chord silently pressed down with wedges. The xylophone eventually joins in with material from the linear row. Additional colours are later introduced by using very high mixtures in Manual II and when Manual I is switched on (Manual II i now no longer in use), the trombone plays with constantly increasing vibrato and portamento to the end. Richer and higher mix ure are gradually added to the prepared chord on Manual I and all three instrument3 play crescendo to fff. The resulting tension is resolved in the second movement of the concerto. The second movement commences with section a called Dhyana which uses timpani and the upper register of the piano. Like section two, this section is characterised by numerous changes of rhythm and tempo. The piano writing exhibits several changes of figuration and light, dry textures are contrasted with thick chordal clusters (see Figure 90). Ostinato figures are prominent in both the timpani and piano parts, while the unmuted trombone has virtuoso triplet passages. The fifth section, Samadhi, is marked tranquillo and features the silvery sounds of the celeste as well as the glockenspiel and piano. Here the writing for the trombone, using a straight metal mute, becomes slow and remote, but with vibrato and much portamento preparing the way for a return to the pure form of the chant which is restated at the end of the movement. In Kundalini, the concluding section, the trombone presents the original row accompanied by an ostinato-Iike pattern in the lower register of the piano. The piano accompaniment becomes chordal and eventually the texture becomes thin and sparse. When the chant enters, it is to be played as it was at the opening of the concerto, but now ff, in a free, majestic way. The accompanying percussion instruments are woodblocks and a large tam-tarn. It is interesting to note the use of woodblocks as they are sometimes used to accompany Tibetan Buddhist chant. The sustaining pedal on the piano remains depressed from here to the end, and the trombone plays into the piano to ease sympathetic vibrations As soon as this effect is lost, the player is directed in the score to turn the bell of the instrument towards the audience once more." -- Wendy PennyItem type: Item , Access status: Open Access , Simone De Haan/Greg Schiemer: Improvisation (1983)(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1983) Composer: Simone De Haan; Composer: Greg Schiemer; Cobbin, Peter"In 1976 Greg Schiemer began designing and building some simple electronic circuits which he mounted in plastic kitchenware and called the Tupperware Gamelan. Having played both in a real gamelan and in a r ve improvisation group with AZ music, his initial objective was to form an ensemble of musicians playing small unsophisticated electronic musical instruments. In 1983 Kai Tai Chan, director of the One Extra Company, proposed a work using instruments of the Tupperware Gamelan, as part of a stage set for a dance performance. TheresultingworkwasPorcelainDialogue. TheGamelan by this time included sixteen analog oscillators and a digital control unit. Instead of being a collection of instruments played by a large number of people, each of these instruments, called UFOs, was modified to allow it to be used as a pendulum, functioning as part of a stage set and operated by a single performer. Each oscillator was mounted in a small Tupperware container which contained a tiny amplifier and loudspeaker. These were suspended from the ceiling of the theatre by the cable~ that connected them to the digital logic box. In performance, these containers were swung back and forth, further dispersing the sound. The pitches, timbres and rhythms the oscillators played were determined by the digital control unit. This control unit, constructed in a much larger piece of Tupperware, had a number of switches on its cover. In performance, these were operated by one of the dancers, who followed a score of symbols such as '3 :30, C3 down' , meaning tum switch C3 down at 3 minutes and 30 seconds into the piece. The heart of the digital control unit was an 8-bit pseudo-random sequence generator. This provided two separate binary signals for each of four binary-to-decimal decoders, each of which drove the lines going to one of sixteen oscillators. Any group of four lines could be made to switch on or off depending on the two binary signals controlling the decoder, the resultant melodic movement at times beating in unison with another oscillator, at times 'jumping' from one oscillator to another, at times proceeding like a conventional hocket. These binary lines had additional switches which allowed Boolean transposition of the code. For example, a sequence of code such as 1, 3, 2, 4 could be transposed to 2, 1, 3, 4 by altering one binary switch. This meant that the spatial path followed by the melodic line could be affected by the four possible combinations of two switches. The logic signals which drove the control lines could also be modulated with audio signals, forcing side-bands from each of the local oscillators. In this way, each of the sixteen oscillators was capable not only of producing four pitches unmodulated, but was able to produce a va~t variety of timbres, usmg methods of modulation with properties similar to both pulse-width modulation and amplitude modulation. The instrnments heard in this recording are the ones used for Porcelain Dialogue. They were set up to swing from the ceiling of the Lewellyn Hall in Canberra, and then played by the composer in this improvisation with rombonist Simone de Haan. This recording of the Tupperware Gamelan though realising something less than the full potential of the instruments, is the only one available." -- Greg Schiemer