Avant Garde Music for Solo Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass.

Started by Mandryka, June 09, 2020, 09:20:52 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Artem

I haven't, unfortunately. I wish I could hear all NEOS releases someday.

Mandryka




Christopher Burns is a composer who worked on the electronics side of La Lonranaza Nostalgica . . . on the recording with Miranda Cuckson on the fiddle. After that experience he wrote Come Ricordi, come sogni, come echi as a sort of homage - in fact it comes across well at home as it includes no spacialisation. Nono type techniques including a bit of vocal stuff, and not long - 15 mins or thereabouts. Derivative but honestly so, and rather nice.

The longest piece on the above CD is by Georg Frederick Haas, de terrae fine. It has been commercially recorded before on a viola on this recording by Barbara Lüneburg



For me, qua listener, the problem with this 20 minute long piece by Haas is predictable - how to make it flow, how to make it appear logical and inevitable. And IMO the most impressive recording I've heard from that point of view is by a Dutch violinist called Diamanda La Berge Dramm - not commercial, but very well recorded and here on YouTube - well worth a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/v/v54gB5cbpbU
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

not edward

Quote from: Brian on November 29, 2020, 08:19:34 AM


"Cellist Wilhelmina Smith's second album release on Ondine continues exploring contemporary Nordic repertoire for solo cello. In her new album Smith has focus on Danish contemporary composers, Per Nørgård (b. 1932) and Poul Ruders (b. 1949). Both Nørgård and Ruders are known for their large-scale orchestral works. Nørgård, in particular, is known for his eight symphonies and has been hailed by many as one of the greatest living symphonists. It is therefore intriguing to look closer to his two very early lyrical solo cello sonatas, early masterpieces written just before completing his 1st Symphony. In 1980, the composer revised his second sonata by adding an extensive second movement, almost an entirely new sonata, to the existing work. Nørgård's 3rd sonata "What – Is the Word!" from 1999 is a short "Sonata breve" that takes its title from a quote by Irish playwriter Samuel Beckett. Another major Danish composer of our times, Poul Ruders (b. 1949), has also written 5 symphonies alongside several concertos and three operas. Ruders wrote his 10-movement Bravourstudien in 1976, just at the brink of a major stylistic change. This work is a set of variations on a Medieval folk tune "L'homme armé". In this work, however, the original theme is heard at the very end of the work."
Sadly this sounds like a real lost opportunity. The first three Nørgård sonatas--all mentioned in this description--have already been recorded by Nørgård's regular collaborator Morten Zeuthen, but the fourth and fifth have not.
"I don't at all mind actively disliking a piece of contemporary music, but in order to feel happy about it I must consciously understand why I dislike it. Otherwise it remains in my mind as unfinished business."
-- Aaron Copland, The Pleasures of Music

not edward

The first of Clara Iannotta's Dead Wasps in the Jam-Jar series:

https://youtube.com/v/8kqX6TXMBow

A short piece that led to the first in a series of recent string quartets.
"I don't at all mind actively disliking a piece of contemporary music, but in order to feel happy about it I must consciously understand why I dislike it. Otherwise it remains in my mind as unfinished business."
-- Aaron Copland, The Pleasures of Music

Leo K.

Interesting thread!

I offer my own solo cello score (never recorded) here with PDF below (not for sale it's free). I think you could call it conceptual art music:


"Out of a total of 46 Figures (and one Appendix) developed by Daniel E. Prindle in "The Form of the Preludes to Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suites" (2011) there are Figured Bass Reductions (Figures 2.1 and 2.2) of the Prelude from Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 on pages 17 and 20, a Figured Bass Reduction (Figure 3.1) of the Prelude from Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008 on page 28, a Figured Bass Reduction (Figure 4.1) of the Prelude from Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 on page 38, a Figured Bass Reduction (Figure 6.2) of the Prelude from Suite No. 4 in Eb Major, BWV 1010 on page 65, and a Figured Bass Reduction (Figure 7.2) of the Prelude from Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 on page 80. Out of a total of 46 Figures (and one Appendix) developed by Daniel E. Prindle in "The Form of the Preludes to Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suites" (2011) there are Reductions of five Motives (Figures 7.1a, 7.1b, 7.1c. 7.1d and 7.1e) in the Prelude to Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 on page 77, Reductions of Middleground Motives (Figures 4.3 and 4.4) in the Prelude to Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 on page 40 and a Reduction (Figure 4.5) to an Ascending Sequence in the Prelude to Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 on page 42."

suite for unaccompanied cello (2019)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7f5bbehhfstb5vb/cello_suite.pdf?dl=0



From my music score site:

https://toddwinkels.weebly.com/



Mandryka




Roger Reynolds's Kokora is a series of 12 studies for violin, each one has a title indicating the intended expressive effect. They are contrapuntal, and they use microtones, but all the tones have determinate pitch. It's a very fine peace of music, I'd say a masterpiece. Irvine Arditti recorded it twice, but at the moment I'm enjoying the one on the CD above played by the American violin player Mark Menzies - I like Menzies's tone, and his ability to make the etudes flow one into the other.


Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

Quote from: Leo K. on December 11, 2020, 10:22:34 AM
Interesting thread!

I offer my own solo cello score (never recorded) here with PDF below (not for sale it's free). I think you could call it conceptual art music:


"Out of a total of 46 Figures (and one Appendix) developed by Daniel E. Prindle in "The Form of the Preludes to Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suites" (2011) there are Figured Bass Reductions (Figures 2.1 and 2.2) of the Prelude from Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 on pages 17 and 20, a Figured Bass Reduction (Figure 3.1) of the Prelude from Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008 on page 28, a Figured Bass Reduction (Figure 4.1) of the Prelude from Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 on page 38, a Figured Bass Reduction (Figure 6.2) of the Prelude from Suite No. 4 in Eb Major, BWV 1010 on page 65, and a Figured Bass Reduction (Figure 7.2) of the Prelude from Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 on page 80. Out of a total of 46 Figures (and one Appendix) developed by Daniel E. Prindle in "The Form of the Preludes to Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suites" (2011) there are Reductions of five Motives (Figures 7.1a, 7.1b, 7.1c. 7.1d and 7.1e) in the Prelude to Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 on page 77, Reductions of Middleground Motives (Figures 4.3 and 4.4) in the Prelude to Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 on page 40 and a Reduction (Figure 4.5) to an Ascending Sequence in the Prelude to Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 on page 42."

suite for unaccompanied cello (2019)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7f5bbehhfstb5vb/cello_suite.pdf?dl=0



From my music score site:

https://toddwinkels.weebly.com/

That's very kind of you! I shall download it tomorrow, can't wait to hear it.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Leo K.

Quote from: Mandryka on December 13, 2020, 01:23:46 PM
That's very kind of you! I shall download it tomorrow, can't wait to hear it.

Thank you for looking at it! I wish I had a recording but it's a rather new score too.

Mandryka



These are 11 free improvisations for solo cello made by Anton Lukoszeviez during the big UK lockdown in March. Very good! Fresh music which stands being listened to many times. Fans of Scelsi cello music should give it a try IMO.

Downloadable from Cafe Oto.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

https://www.youtube.com/v/vSgb1eP8A24

David Dunn's  Espial (1979) was recorded by a solo violinist performing gestures composed by Dunn over three-and-a-half hours in a harsh California desert environment. The results were then played back in a layering of seven half-hour segments on cassette machines and re-recorded. The essence of the landscape is very present.

I think it's very good! From this CD which is wonderful

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

Jennifer Walshe's This is Why People OD on Pills, for double bass

https://vimeo.com/285606060

The score reads as follows

QuoteLearn to skateboard however primitively. Examine and meditate on optimum skating environments, either real or imagined, taking in the macro- and micro- structure of these environments. Go for a walk and imagine being able to skate everything you see -- strrets, roads, walls, trees, curbs, planters, slopes, gardens bins, lamp-posts, footpaths, bushes, cars, signs, windowsills, ramps, shopping trolleys, pools, slides, billboards, roofs, benches cows, handrails, fences, edges, lips, steps, drains, ditches, rims, gutters.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

steve ridgway


Mandryka

The Walshe is 2004, it was a commission by one of my favourite cellists, Anton Lukoszevieze; The Stockhausen is 1968.

Here's the score of the Walshe

QuoteTHIS IS WHY PEOPLE O.D. ON PILLS /AND JUMP FROM THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

This piece is performed by 1-10 performers performing on any instruments (including voice). Each performer prepares and practices their own individual "path" according to the directions given below. The piece consists of the performance of this/these "path(s)." If the piece is performed by a soloist, it should be a minimum duration of 5 minutes long, and is called "THIS IS WHY PEOPLE O.D. ON PILLS."

If the piece is performed by a group, the group should agree on a performance duration (minimum 10 minutes). Each member of the group's path should be a minimum duration of 5 minutes long, and a performer can begin/end their path anywhere within the chosen performance duration. A performance by a group is called "/AND JUMP FROM THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE."


Directions:

1. Learn to skateboard, however primitively. Re-learn your body's weight, muscles, bones, geometry, abilities, flash-points afresh. Meditate on presure, torque, weighht, movement, air, light, space, lines. Focus minutely on surface, micro-surface, bumps, cracks, debris, conrete, asphalt, granite, marble, plastic, wood; "gradients, slopes, verticals, the architectural qualities whatyou skate on, the "wanness of wall." See, smell hear, feel, how your body relates to the board and through it to Space. Try to learn or at least attempt a few tricks. Even if you cannot do the tricks, analyse an understand them in your head and body, the basic concepts, movements, weightings, shifts and throw involved in ollies, grinds, kickflips, aerials, backslides, boardslides, rock'n'rolls, varials (or other tricks, and reombinations of any of them. Feel time compress and expand as you move in and out of these tricks, launch, rise, catch stillness, fall, spin, slide, pivot, leap.

2. Augment this experience by watching skaters visiting skateparks, viewing skateboard photos, videos, looking at skating magazines, books, films, sites. Try to understand and absorb what you see with your body, internalizing these ways of achieving speed, height, weightlessness, skating the paths virtually with full attention.

3. Examine and meditate on optimum skating environments, either real or imagined, taking in the macro- and micro-structure of these environments. Go for a walk and imagine being able to skate everything you see —streets, roads, walls, trees, carbs, planters, slopes, gardens, bins, lamp-posts, footpaths, bushes, cars, signs, window-sills, ramps, shopping trolleys, pools, slides, bollards, roofs, benches, cows, hand-rails, fences, edges, lips, steps, drains, ditches, rims, gutters. Contemplate the ability of skate-boarding to articulate space, find new paths through architecture, fresh uses for it, notice and exploit visibleAnvisible relationships.

4. Compose an imaginary path you would like to skate. This path should push and force you to limits, be rich, beautiful, complicated and stylish, and incorporate some tricks. The path is limited only by your imagination. Internalise this path, skate and inhabit it in terms of body, space and time. Feel space moving around you as you articulate your lines, intersecting, crossing, glancing, spinning away, grabbing at movements and air, smells and sounds.

5. Choose a pitch on your instrument. Skate your imagined path on this pitch. (You may choose to skate the path in slow-motion.) Every micro-detail of the pitch (tuning, timbre, dynamic, envelope, consistency, colour, texture, weight, feel, pressure, clarity, strength) should correspond absolutely to the experience of skating the path in your head. Pay attention to every minute detail, the micro-cartography of the path you are skating, the tiny shifts in muscle, weight, speed, direction. Carve through air in long, sweeping paths with the sound you produce. Reveal and inhabit new spaces, smooth new lines.


What strikes me is the physicality of it -- I haven't seen a score of Aus Den Sieben Tagen? so I don't know if it makes these sorts of demands on the performer -- demands about his body.

(I have some vague memories that there are many "meditation" scores like this -- some fluxus pieces. There's also the Cage Song Books of course.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

steve ridgway

I was just thinking the idea of a "composition" being a set of vague ideas suggesting a mood after which the performers would do their own intuitive things is not no so new. This bit though is a lot more detailed and specifies it's all about modifying a single note, based on the performer's visualisation of a skateboarding experience.

5. Choose a pitch on your instrument. Skate your imagined path on this pitch. (You may choose to skate the path in slow-motion.) Every micro-detail of the pitch (tuning, timbre, dynamic, envelope, consistency, colour, texture, weight, feel, pressure, clarity, strength) should correspond absolutely to the experience of skating the path in your head. Pay attention to every minute detail, the micro-cartography of the path you are skating, the tiny shifts in muscle, weight, speed, direction. Carve through air in long, sweeping paths with the sound you produce. Reveal and inhabit new spaces, smooth new lines.

So the piece is more of a specific set of concepts and rules for the performer to generate their music. Maybe the composer found it too difficult to follow it through themselves and write the notes down?

Mandryka

Or that by just providing the directions you'd encourage the performer to tap into his own creative juices rather than just follow the notes on a score. Disappointing that it's another bloody one note with overtones piece, there are too many of them.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

https://www.youtube.com/v/qb3nZZ0-Ha4&ab_channel=EnsembleMusikfabrik

Simon Steen Anderson, study for string instrument 2 -- here played on a cello with a bit of processing. No-one better at the post-Lachenmann thing than Steen Anderson.

Also worth noting here is his Beside besides, for cello and drum with elastic bands, bowed like a cello

https://www.youtube.com/v/OgZw1ve3H6c&ab_channel=FranzBannwart

Same idea here --

https://www.youtube.com/v/WkvrFShVxg4&ab_channel=FranzBannwart
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

T. D.

Improv, but interesting new solo bass release from Barry Guy:

http://nobusinessrecords.com/irvins-comet.html
I'm listening on Bandcamp, https://nobusinessrecords.bandcamp.com/album/irvins-comet
I've become a fan of Guy and own a number of his recordings for larger ensembles. Undecided on purchasing solo recordings, though I enjoyed Fizzles (posted back on p. 1 of thread).
Excellent video of Fizzles part I here (extended techniques beginning at 2:22): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUDwLv_8No8

Mandryka

Yes it's not bad. The place where I have most enjoyed Barry Guy is on this extraordinary improvisation CD

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka




And following on from that YouTube I've been really enjoying the above all day. The cd includes by far the best performance of music by Christian Wolff that I've ever heard, Duch can find the poetry in the music.  Not just in Wolff, but also in other normally challenging composers like Cardew and Skempton.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen