MHL 204 –EXPERIMENTAL
MUSIC
(F-11)
1.
What is “experimental music”?
David Nicholls: Experimental music “lies outside the
tradition” – How does a composer create music outside the tradition? – by
ignoring tradition, by defying tradition, by trying things that “aren’t music”
John Cage:
"An experimental action is an action the
outcome of which is not foreseen” – Cage means chance music and/or
improvised music, but could also include Ives quarter-tone pianos, or Varese
all-percussion orchestra (Ionisation), or playing a
record backwards
We could also say: Music that tries something
that no one has tried before – or Music that challenges people’s previous ideas
about what music is
“Experimentalism” as a historical movement
with a beginning (c. 1900), middle, end – But has it reached an end, or is it
near an end? – Not as obviously as 12-tone music
American Experimentalist tradition
Probably stronger than in Europe - perhaps
because definitions were felt here as somewhat external and illegitimate – to
create really “American” music composers had to free themselves from European
musical traditions – Also because composers here had no tradition and no status
and thus nothing to lose
Examples of American experimentalists: Ives, Seeger (covered already) – also Cowell, Cage, Varese, Partch, Nancarrow
American experimentalists seem to have concentrated particularly on
technical challenges, i.e. developing new instruments and new techniques of
playing old instruments -- This seems to be more of a focus here than in Europe
2.
Henry Cowell (1897-1965)
First
American to achieve notoriety as avant-gardist -
Child prodigy - Began composing expanded-technique piano works from 1912 -
noted in particular for "tone clusters"
played with fists and forearm -- toured as A-G piano virtuoso in 1920's
delighting in scandals -- book New Musical Resources (1919) - arguments for
systematic redefinitions: e.g. exchanging consonance for dissonance, equation
of pitch with rhythm, micro-intervals, etc.
Leading public figure of American Avant-garde, performed, wrote,
lectured, organized - e.g. biography of Ives, "New Musical Quarterly"
- Locked up on a morals charge in 50s (soliciting teenage boys) - Taught at
Peabody
The
Banshee (1925) - A new and very influential Cowell
technique: working inside the piano – PLAY – How does this challenge
definitions? (changes definition of what you do when you "play the
piano")
3,
Edgard Varèse
(1883-1965) – Hyperprism (1923)
The godfather of the American Avant-garde –
in his music, in his organizational energy and in his confrontational spirit –
Coined Frank Zappa's motto: "Dying is the privilege of the
weary. The present day composers refuse
to die" (International Composers Guild manifesto, 1921)
Born
in Paris and trained there - came to U.S. by choice because he thought future
of new music was brighter here
Composed most of his music in 1920's - Also most active as organizer
then (International Composers' Guild, 1921-28) – Hyperprism
(1923), Octandre, Integrales,
Ionisation (for percussion
ensemble,1931)
Then
long creative hiatus and bad humor during 30's and 40's - V. seems to have felt
disillusioned, disappointed and bitter at hostility of public - Prophesied
electronic media as heirs of instruments and eagerly embraced them when they
became available – Déserts (1954) for orchestra and tape (alternating)
V.
challenged all previous definitions of what were materials of music (melody,
accompaniment, harmony, form) - He defined music as "organized sound"
- WHAT would this definition include as "music"?
His
works of 20's concerned themselves mainly with timbres: organization, sequence
and juxtaposition of timbres -- Also with volumes and with absolute pitches
Hyperprism (1923) NAWM 178
For wind band and very large percussion section - 7 to 10 percussionists playing 20
instruments
New
role of percussion - Not used rhythmically but texturally and timbrally - We hear pulse but not rhythms -- Instruments
include: anvil, tam-tam, siren, Lion's roar (string drum) -- leads toward Ionisation (1930) for
percussion ensemble
Varèse distinguished
between "rhythm" vs. "meter" –
rhythm was patterns of sounds in time and space, counterpoint of attack and
density; meter was beat (more or less) – Varèse
wanted to free rhythm from meter
PLAY – Listen for treatment of rhythm and of
pitch – Entirely free treatment of
dissonance – Nothing like melody – we hear: 1) pitches held or repeated, 2)
short motifs repeated, 3) sound masses – Rhythm freed from meter (although
there are places where we think we may hear a pulse)
Varese never explained procedures – described
his music with metaphors from physical world (quasi-scientific) – Described Hyperprism with image of crystal: Limited number of
internal structures vs. limitless possibilities of external form
Internal structures take the form of
motifs, timbres or pitches - e.g. rising triplet motif at beginning, brass
cluster timbre, insistence on C# (Varese said he later realized this was a New
York City police siren, which he had been hearing on and off as he composed the
piece)
6. John Cage
(1912-1992)
Began like Cowell
and Varese with expansion of instrumental techniques, timbres and possibilities
Percussion pieces in late 30's - e.g. Double
Music with Lou Harrison - Backyard percussion ensemble made out of brake drums,
etc.
Prepared piano – sound of the piano
is transformed by inserting objects on and between the strings - materials
include bolts, tacks, wires, spoons, rubber plugs etc - Turns piano into a very
capable, but oddly limited, percussion instrument – Cage said he invented the
technique when he was working as a dance-studio accompanist – C. wrote many PP pieces in 40's - In most
cases each piece required individual preparation - Technique was C's trademark
for about a decade – Examples: The Perilous Night (1944),
Sonatas and Interludes (1948) NAWM 187
Large cycle of prepared-piano pieces – All
use the same preparation (NAWM p. 540 – Modeled on Scarlatti keyboard sonatas
with 2 repeated sections, 2nd one usually longer
PLAY Sonata #5 – compare what you see to what
you hear – more like a percussion ensemble than a piano
Cage described Sonatas and Interludes as
wandering along a beach, picking up pretty stones and examining them – i.e.
explore sounds that preparation has made available in the piano – But at the
same time the phrases and proportions are carefully calculated to achieve
balance
7.
Transformation of Cage’s style in early 1950s – Sought way of composing
that would embody philosophy of Zen Buddhism and
that would “let sounds by themselves” instead of being symbols for something
else
Cage studied Zen Buddhism (with Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki in late 40s)
–Zen notion of man's (or woman's) role in life as fitting himself into the
world, moving with the world instead of trying to shape and change the world
Applying this idea to music, Cage
believes that the composer shouldn't try to shape, mold or determine what
sounds will occur in music; composer should not impose his own taste on the
listener; composer should only create a situation in which performers and
listeners can find and experience music themselves
Three more central ideas for Cage:
1. Noises are as useful as so-called musical
tones, for the simple reason that they are sounds – all sounds can potentially
be music
2.
Silence is crucial to music – Silence isn’t the absence of sound but the
the absence of intended sound – If we give up
intention, then we hear silence – This was the meaning of 4’ 33”
3.
There is no firm line between "music" and "not
music" -- "Everything is music" if we want it to be
NAWM distinguishes between indeterminacy and chance
– This is a distinction that wasn’t made much at the time, but it’s useful –
Cage mentioned it in his essay on the “History of Experimental Music”:
“indeterminacy with respect to composition” vs. “indeterminacy with respect to
performance”
Chance music – composer
determines pitches, rhythms, timbres, etc by using chance operations (e.g.
flipping a coin), But the composer notates entire piece in all aspects, and the
performer plays what the composer has written – Also called aleatoric music
Indeterminacy – Composer notates
only some aspects, leaves others up to decisions by performers – e.g. pitch in Penderecki’s Threnody
In both cases the composer only partially determines
what the listener is going to hear – his influence is attenuated, highly
mediated – But NB this is the case also the case in Bach (continuo realization)
and Rossini (vocal coloratura)
Music of Changes (1951) (NAWM 166)
This is example of “chance” music (not
indeterminacy)
Cage decided on the pitches, the rhythms,
registers, textures, etc. by flipping coins and then consulting the I Ching (book of Changes),
which is an ancient Chinese text used for fortune telling – NAWM tries to
describe the procedures he used, but don’t worry about them
Important points:
Cage had to decide in advance on the overall
shape of the piece and what sounds or rhythms etc. the random operations would
choose among
After that the piece is determined by chance
Cage notates everything – the performer plays
as faithfully as possible – Thus this isn’t indeterminate music
PLAY at random
Unfortunately we don’t have an example in the
syllabus of an "indeterminate" piece by Cage – Famous example is 4' 33" (1952) in which the performer sits at an
instrument but does not play; what audience hears is determined by ambient
noise at that particular moment – Another example is Imaginary
Landscape IV (1951), in which instruments are 12 radios, which
performers tune to different stations (following a score!) ; what audience
hears is determined by what happens to be on the radio that night
People imagine that Cage was giving
performers license to do whatever they pleased and call it music – This is a
big misconception – Cage insisted that performers execute his instructions
carefully and in good faith – Otherwise they would just be substituting their
whims for the composer’s whims and the result would be very far from the Zen
philosophy of fitting in with the world
8.
Luciano Berio
(1925-2003) – Sequenza III for soprano – NAWM 192
Berio's sequenzas
are intended to explore possibilities of various instruments, using playing
techniques that "extend" beyond what's asked for in traditional
repertory – Something like 14 by now – most popular are for flute, trombone,
guitar, accordion
Sequenza III is example of “extended technique” for singer – written for Cathy Berberian (Berios wife at the time)
What are some extended techniques in Sequenza III?
speech
vs. song
vowel
timbres
other
vocal sounds (e.g. clicks)
PLAY
Do “extended” techniques eventually get
absorbed into “normal” techniques? – e.g. shifting on violin, vibrato,
harmonics, thumb on keyboard – Do some techniques never get absorbed?
Notation – extended techniques require new
notation – Berio's instructions at beginning (other Sequenze have fewer instructions) – open to interpretation
by performers – performance practice traditions
PLAY various versions on the web
And
while you're at it, don't miss sequenza V for
trombone, as performed by