HurdAudio Rotation: Music of Pairs

Rene Lussier/Martin Tetreault: Dur Noyau Dur. 1997. Ambiances Magnetiques Etcetera: AM 057 CD.

Rene Lussier: acoustic guitar, electric guitar

Martin Tetreault: turntables, pick-up, radio

Lussier and Tetreault work with the raw materials of electricity and sound. Placing the listener at the unusual position of being extremely close to the point where the needle meets the vinyl, where the fingertips scrape guitar strings or at the exact position where electricity is converted into bursts of noise and sound. Dur Noyau Dur does retain fleeting moments of Rene Lussier's fantastical flights. But they are less geared toward sliding references toward other musics and more contained within the moment of these brief improvisations. The focus turned toward the energy and other-wordly atmosphere of these sonic materials. It's an uncompromising record that demands a great deal from the listener. With the result of taking the attentive ears into deeply unfamiliar territories.

Charles Ives/Ivan Wyschnegradsky: Quarter-Tone Pieces. 2006. Hat Hut Records: [now] ART 143.

Josef Christof: piano

Steffen Schleiermacher: piano

24 Preludes In Quarter-Tone System by Ivan Wyschnegradsky (excerpts)

Three Quarter-Tone Pieces For Two Pianos by Charles Ives

Etude sur le "Carre Magique Sonore" op. 40 by Ivan Wyschnegradsky

The Russian mystic and the iconic American maverick composer are performed together under the shared distinction of having written piano music featuring the interval of the twenty-fourth-root of two. The interval that divides the semitone in half to form the quarter-tone. Beyond the timbre of the piano and the doubling of harmonic resources these two composers are strikingly different. Ivan Wyschnegradsky's quarter-tone piano pieces sound like something Scriabin might have explored had he gone down this particular harmonic path. While Charles Ives retains the balance of awe and Americana that makes him one of the great composers of any era. Hearing the multiple worlds and melodic references of Ives run through the twin blades of his relentlessly creative energy and the 24-tone equal temperament makes this collection more than worth hearing. One can only imagine what these two composers might have done if they had access to better technology for realizing even more inventive harmonic constructions.

Daniel Levin/Tim Daisy: The Flower and the Bear. 2011. Relay Records: 003.

Daniel Levin: cello

Tim Daisy: percussion

Daniel Levin and Tim Daisy each work within an expansive sensibility respective to their instruments. Ready to switch up the timbral qualities of the moment in a manner that balances the reactive and the pro-active aspects of duo improvisation. Daisy's drumming takes on a particular urgency in this set as he alludes to, plays within or provides a parallel sense of time with plenty of fractured subdivisions of the organic pulse at hand. Daniel Levin's cello work takes this temporal material and stitches in his own contribution into the overall texture. The ears can almost sense the elasticity of this musical fabric as these master improvisers apply their push and pull to the elusive instant when they create this sound. There are many great duo recordings that feature great musicians at work such as this one. But this disc comes highly recommended as one of the more relentlessly listenable sets you're likely to find.

HurdAudio Rotation: I Shot the Sheriff

Charles Ives/Ivan Wyschnegradsky: Quarter-Tone Pieces. 2006. Hat Hut Records: hat[now]ART 143.

Josef Christof: piano
Stefen Schleiermacher: piano

24 Preludes In Quarter-Tone System (excerpts)(1934/70) by Ivan Wyschnegradsky
Three Quarter-Tone Pieces for Two Pianos (1903 - 23) by Charles Ives
Three Page Sonata (1905) by Charles Ives
Etude sur le "Carre Magique Sonore" op. 40 (1957) by Ivan Wyschnegradsky

Where is the obsession due for Ivan Wyschegradsky? Come on, people. He's Russian. Russian composers are supposed to be over-exposed to the point where I'm tired of hearing them (think Shostakovich or Scriabin). He's even a wild-eyed mystic (like Arvo Part). Is it the microtonal thing that's holding back his exposure? Because I scratch and dig for recordings of this cat and I cannot get enough. The excerpts from the 24 Preludes is fantastic. And it's typical in the current recorded oeuvre of Wyschnegradsky that there isn't a complete edition readily available out there. Let's have an all-Wyschnegradsky festival at Tanglewood so these ears can get their fill of this important microtonal composer.

Charles Ives is another composer these ears have enormous appetite for. These works for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart are pure joy. And again, I know there is much, much more material like this out there. Hungry ears left hungry well after this beautiful appetizer. Especially the "Chorale" movement from the Three Quarter-Tone Pieces for Two Pianos.

This disc is harmonically rich, rich modernist music beautifully performed. The extra layers of dissonance and consonance afforded from dividing the octave into 24-equal parts opens up surprising vistas that remain an open frontier nearly a full century after these works were composed.

Andrew Violette: Sonata for Unaccompanied Violin. 2008. Innova: 711.

Robert Uchida: violin

A substantial composition for solo violin. Andrew Violette focuses squarely upon the linear development of melodic materials and their formal presentation as base constructs that are systematically and creatively deconstructed, varied and later reassembled.

The first disc of this double-CD includes .pdf files of the score and the liner notes. A practice I heartily applaud as following along with the score reveals the compositional integrity and prolonged focus of this piece. I am struck by the total absence of dynamic markings - leaving interpretive freedom to the individual performer taking on this long form and making it their own (something Robert Uchida has done with enormous musicality). Also missing to a large extent are rests. Or any vibration of string other than bowing (no pizzicato). Other than the space between movements, these are straight melodic slabs that meticulously work through the intervals found within the Aria (and its numerous variations), Bells (later appearing with trills and scales) and a long Chaconne.

Robert Uchida's performance brings this score to life with impressive depth. The prolonged focus upon the linear harmony of this music shimmers with a balance of disciplined playing and humanity. A work worthy of revisiting.

Bob Marley and The Wailers: Burnin'. Premium Audiophile pressing on heavyweight 180 gram vinyl of the 1973 classic. Island Records: 07314 54889414.

"Get up, stand up. Stand up for your rights." Words of truth and words of consequence in regard to fighting on the side of justice for the oppressed. Musically fascinating and resonant as a near-concept album espousing right in the face of power. My younger ears escaped the hook of this music. Now the appeal is immediate and embraced. Add to it the warmth of vinyl with a lazy summer evening and this soul hears something eternal in this expression of honesty combined with the intrinsic musicality of this production.

HurdAudio Rotation: Quarters, Poems and Duets

Charles Ives, Ivan Wyschnegradsky: Quarter-tone Pieces. 2006. Hat Hut: hat[now]ART 143.

Josef Christof: piano
Steffen Schleiermacher: piano

24 Preludes in Quarter-Tone System (excerpts) (1934/70) Wyschnegradsky

Three Quarter-Tone Pieces For Two Pianos (1903-23) Ives

Three Page Sonata (1905) Ives

Etude sur le "Carre Magique Sonore" op. 40 (1957) Wyschnegradsky

The language of microtonal discourse is caught within a peculiar deference to the displacement of writing a music that so thoroughly exposes the conventions and weaknesses of both notation and instrument design. The quasi-spiritual assertions of just intonation advocates Lou Harrison and Ben Johnston as "prophets in the desert" as found in the liner notes of this 2006 release serves to reinforce the cult-like mystique of deliberately throwing the 12-tone-to-the-octave order into disarray.

Furthering this sense of spiritual isolation we have the deeply mystical pronouncements and compositions of Ivan Wyschnegradsky. The fact that recordings of his music are frustratingly rare and hard to obtain only enhances the image of a wise seer perched at the highest mountain top. When the music is rendered audible in recordings such as this, I am struck by how transcendent it truly is. The microtonal qualities gives Wyschnegradsky's music an added profound chromaticism that is striking and irresistible. Here, 12 of the 24 quarter-tone preludes are presented. When will a full set be available on record? The hunger to feed these ears a more complete representation of Wyschnegradsky's musical universe grows with this sampling.

With the Charles Ives quarter-tone pieces we find a different attitude toward expanded harmonic materials, something less steeped in mystical overtones. In Ives' universe the quarter-tone serves as expansion, period. The sound is changed by the additional harmonic possibilities. But that sound is still rooted in a world of familiar melodies and idiomatic styles. The allusion to rag-time piano music or unorthodox harmonizations of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" keeps an earthiness in the sound that suggests a healthy alternative to the mystical detachment or righteous assertions of breaking with prevailing harmonic conventions.

Richard Strauss: Tone Poems. 1988 (Collector's Edition of recordings from 1957, 1958). Deutsche Grammophon: 463 190-2.

Karl Bohm: conductor
Staatskapelle Dresden
Berliner Philharmoniker

Eine Alpensinfonie op.64
Don Juan op.20
Waltzes from Act III
Also sprach Zarathustra op.30
Festiches Praludium op.61
Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche op.28
Dance of the Seven Veils from Salome op.54
Ein Heldenleben op.40
Tod und Verklarung op.24

There was a time when I'd be lost in these sweeping, long narrative symphonic works. A younger version of myself had written off the romantic syntax and rejected the notion that an abstract sequence of sounds could convey image and story. As I revisit that impression with more wisdom in the ears I find the scope of these epic tales to be human and surprisingly easy to understand and follow. Three discs of Strauss tone poems is a heavy dose of Germanic music to take in one sitting (which is exactly how I've approached them as an avoidance of the spectacle playing out on American television this Sunday). I am struck by the orchestrations Strauss applies to these works. Particularly the use and incorporation of organ in Eine Alpensinfonie (heralding the storm) and Festival Prelude (presumably calling the masses to celebrate).

Lee Konitz: The Lee Konitz Duets. 1967 (Re-released in 1990). Milestone: OJCCD-466-2.

Lee Konitz: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, varitone saxophone
in duets with:
Marshall Brown: trombone
Joe Henderson: tenor saxophone
Elvin Jones: drums
Karl Berger: vibraharp
Eddie Gomez: bass
Richie Kamuca: tenor saxophone
Ray Nance: violin
Jim Hall: guitar
Dick Katz: piano

In the middle of this collection is "ERB," possibly the most exquisite free improvisation between alto saxophone (Konitz) and guitar (Jim Hall) ever recorded. The presence of this three-minute, atonal gem would be startling in midst of any collection of duets - especially one with as many bop oriented tunes as this one - except that the same quiet, shimmering inventiveness of Hall and Konitz is found on every track no matter how "free" each piece may or may not be. "Tickle Toe" presents a focused, sparkling two tenor take on the Lester Young classic (performed by Konitz and Richie Kamuca) while "Struttin' with Some Barbecue" offers up a spirited slice of soulful sax and valve trombone (Marshall Brown) complete with some light overdubbing on the final chorus. "Alphanumeric" closes out this set with a full ensemble of players unloading all the restraint that makes the duets so taut, lean and brimming with verve. These players are so good, even Konitz's typically understated excellence nearly boils over. This is a great album and one well worth dusting off and rediscovering.