Tag Archives: Nick Terry

The Complete Harry Partch, Volume 4


Bridge 9611

The first volume of this Bridge Records landmark series focused on Harry Partch’s (1901-1974) most likely best known works, a fine way to introduce this man’s unusual and brilliantly experimental music.

Bridge 9349

From this first volume, it is clear that great care was taken to produce the most authentic and complete versions of this music in dedicated, authentic performances on faithfully constructed copies of Partch’s unusual (and visually beautiful) instruments. The instruments themselves deserve a history and analysis but that is beyond the scope of this review. This is a great disc to introduce listeners to this man’s work.

Bridge 9149A/C

This second volume won a Grammy for the best classical compilation. It is largely a spoken word album, the title taken from Partch’s journal documenting his itinerant adventures and musical experiments. This is essentially an audio “Complete Works” edition in which the scholarship of text and performance are refined to represent as accurate a representation of this unique composer’s work as possible. Not as easy listening as the first volume but truly a gift to fans and performers.

Bridge 9525

The third volume, reviewed here, includes a heretofore unknown work by Partch gleaned from that careful reading of the “Bitter Music” diaries (along with other gems). This was actually my introduction to this recording project as Mr. Schneider graciously sent me a copy for review. This rekindled my romance with Partch’s music begun in about 1970 when I heard a 7” promotional disc which was bundled with my copy of Wendy Carlos’ Switched on Bach. That disc contained an excerpt from Partch’s Castor and Pollux among other composers.

Volume Four

Track listing

Now comes Volume 4 and it is loaded with Partchian glory in that it presents the first complete recording of these interrelated works, a sort of cycle of song cycles which, together make up a larger work, a “Meta-song cycle” titled, “The Wayward”. It is arguably his first large scale dramatic work, presented here in aggregate as once planned but never realized until now.

Each volume in this series truly does homage to Harry Partch and assures that his music will continue to have listeners well into this 21st century. There is no question in this listener’s mind, that this complete works cycle will stand for a long time as THE definitive and most complete version of Partch’s oeuvre for many years.

Even as a long time fan of Partch’s work such as myself continues to find delight in the care and attention to detail found in all of these releases. Enthusiasts will still enjoy the various prior media incarnations by the composer himself from releases on his own Gate 5 label and others which are still available as are subsequent recordings by Dean Drummond and others. But the present series features newly fashioned copies of Partch’s original instrument designs. Those instruments and their visually beautiful and imposing designs themselves become characters along with the musicians in staged live performances. This represents a major step in his artistic development which led to larger scale music theater and film scores later in his career.

It is hard to imagine this being done better and this series effectively situates Partch not simply as the obscure outsider experimentalist, but as a unique artist whose work informs and inspires the next generation of composers and performers. It also clarifies his music theater aspirations and sets the tone for the (hopefully upcoming) larger dramatic works in this ongoing series such as The Revelation in Courthouse Park (1960), The Bewiched (1955), and Delusion of the Fury (1968).

Indeed, Partch had an eye and an ear for the theatrical. His palette was the drama of the dispossessed, the hobo, riding the rails in a sort of proto-beat ethic that later gave rise to Jack Kerouac et al, whose Everyman tales in his novels shaped the subsequent artistic generation. Partch, with his exotic tuning theories broke free from the straight jacket of western music’s conventional tunings (and western concepts of drama) to tunings reconceived from their Pythagorean ideals of ancient practice to a modern alternative with the goal of finding new ways of expression. Kerouac experimented with writing and Partch with tuning. But both men struggled in at least partly voluntary exile from the mainstream of the society within which they found themselves. Partch’s dramatic backdrop was the railroad which unintentionally created a new social sphere of the dispossessed who rode the trains in search of sustenance both physical and intellectual. That dramatic backdrop was one of hopped trains and thumbed rides. Kerouac used his thumb to hitchhike or rode along in trains (he was a brakeman), and (sometimes) in stolen cars courtesy of his muse Neal Cassidy. All this couched in a modern descendant of literature’s great Greek dramas, Japanese Noh dramas, and Ethiopian drama, Partch tells the heroic adventures of his, the generation that followed the “jazz age” and preceded the beat generation much as Kerouac helped evolved literature from the early twentieth century American romanticism of Thomas Wolfe eventually to the “Beat Generation”.

There are six tracks on this release comprising six works. The last “bonus” track is a speculatively realized version suggested but never realized in Partch’s lifetime and it is more than just filler. Like the prior releases, this one speaks to the fans and enthusiasts who seek a complete rendering of every last note the composer wrote.

The Cloud Chamber Bowls, the Chromelodeon, the plectra and percussion instruments, and the characteristic wooden xylophones announce the first work and provide the listener a context in no uncertain terms that this is an expansion of the musician’s harmonic palette. It signifies that performers and audience are now in a very distinctly different world.

The Eight settings that comprise Barstow went through several revisions (1941, 1954, 1968). On this release we are presented with the most recent revisions of the eight inscriptions. The original version of 1941 for voice and guitar is available on the first volume and I believe this is the version that Maestro Schneider performed at an Other Minds concert in San Francisco some years ago.

This present version utilizes a chamber sized ensemble and adds solo and other voices that act like a Greek chorus describing the unfolding drama. If you’ve only heard the version on previous recordings, you’re in for a treat. Both male and female voices are used as appropriate to the gender of the writer of the text. This final version of Barstow here takes on a much grander form, in a larger dramatic splendor which fleshes out, as much as possible, the people (or at least the memories of the people) behind these lonely evanescent texts.

The second and third tracks, clocking in at just over three minutes and just under three minutes respectively are also more elegantly “dressed” with a more elaborate and dramatically effective presentation depicting news headlines (San Francisco) as they once sounded with paper boys hawking their wares and then the text of a letter (The Letter) from one hobo to another, a message to the composer of the work that serve to establish a context. There is some marvelous instrumental music that drives these dramatic segments in a very cinematic, impressionistic manner.

The fourth track, U.S. Highball, in this 1955 revision is a much longer (nearly 30 minutes) description of a train trip which Partch actually traveled. The vocal writing reflects the composer’s mature style and this movement is arguably the heart of this music dramatic foray. The instrumental sections imitate train whistles (with Doppler effects convincingly achieved due to the uniquely non-western tunings). Disembodied voices accompanied by the ever present and imposing musical instruments tell a surreal narrative of a journey as relevant to the ever evolving state of the art that resonates deeply with the feel of the era much as “On the Road” resonated with the esthetic vibe of the following generation. It is essentially brief narratives that are woven into a compelling story and a beautiful example of music drama revisioned to a generational esthetic.

Track five is in effect a sort of humorous postlude. Here, in addition to Partch’s unique instruments, the composer added parts for saxophone and trumpet. These choices were inspired by the composer’s appreciation of the artistry of Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan (with whom he had wished to collaborate). “Ulysses at the Edge” concludes the drama…

But wait…we have an encore. Here, the scholarship and deep respect for Harry Partch’s work gets a sort of little after party of its own here. It is an ingenious version of that same little postlude we just heard with some improvisatory passages driven by a desire to do honor to a collaboration which never occurred…until now.

I refer interested listeners to the very fine liner notes booklet for details on the army of scholars, musicians, and other artists but let me just list the performers:

Erin Barnes, Paul Berkolds, Alison Bjorkedal, Tim Feeney, Dustin Donahue, Aron Kallay, Vicky Ray, John Schneider, Derek Stein, Nick Terry, and Alex Wand played the Partch instruments. Dan Rosenboom played trumpet and Brian Walsh played baritone saxophone.

The instruments heard included:

Diamond Marimba, Spoils of War, Kithara II, Cloud Chamber Bowls, Canon, Bass Marimba, Chromelodeon, and Surrogate Kithara. These may not be sentient but their presence suggests otherwise.

Nadia Shpachenko’s Poetry of Places


shpachenko

This is another in an ongoing series from various labels which are publishing a selection of repertoire chosen by artists who define themselves by their individual approaches to new and recent music.  Kathleen Supove, Sarah Cahill, R. Andrew Lee, Lisa Moore, Liza Stepanova, and Lara Downes come to mind as recent entries into this field.  In the past similar such focused collections has opened many listeners minds to hitherto unknown repertoire.  One would have to include names like Robert Helps, Natalie Hinderas, and Ursula Oppens, all of whom produced revelatory adventures into the world of new and recent piano music in historical landmark recordings. (A recent such collection by Emanuele Arciuli was reviewed here).

On this Reference Recordings disc Nadia Shpachenko presents a series of works, many commissioned for her, of piano music whose focus is architecture, buildings, facades, etc.  It is a curious and unique angle on choosing new music.  There are 11 pieces here all involving Shpachenko at the piano but sometimes with various combinations of electronics, another piano, and a couple of percussionists.

Strictly speaking this is the third disc by Shpachenko featuring new music.  Last year’s “Quotations and Homages” and 2013’s “Woman at the Piano” are doubtlessly worthy precursors to the present disc.

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These works are neither trite nor easy listening.  They are new works and one can get lost in their complexity worrying about the way in which architecture is incorporated.  Or one can listen simply to hear the gorgeous sounds (this is a Reference Recording) of the introductory interpretations by a master musician of works which may or may not become repertory staples but whose substance deserves more than a passing listen.

I won’t go into any detail about these works except to say that the disc seems to have been well received by virtue of the amount of reviews it received on Amazon (I am frequently the first and only reviewer on Amazon when it comes to new music such as this) and those reviewers seem to have heard this release in a way similar to what this reviewer has experienced.

Shpachenko is an important artist who, along many of the artists mentioned at the beginning of this review, is pointing the way to some of the best music currently being written.

World Premieres and a Resurrection: Partch Vol. 3 on Bridge Records


Bridge Records is one of those labels whose every release is worth one’s attention. Their series of music of Elliott Carter, George Crumb, et al are definitive. And while this listener has yet to hear the first two volumes of the Harry Partch series this third volume suggests that Bridge continues to maintain a high standard as they do in all the releases that I’ve heard.

Harry Partch (1901-1974), like Philip Glass and Steve Reich would later do, formed his own group of musicians to perform his works. For Glass and Reich they could not find performers who understood and wanted to play their music. For Partch this issue was further complicated by the fact that he needed specially built instruments which musicians had to learn to play to perform the very notes he asked of them.  And keep in mind that Partch managed to do a significant portion of his work during the depression.  He is as important to the history of tonality as Bach, Wagner, and Schoenberg.

I will confess a long term fascination with Partch’s music.  Ever since hearing a snippet of Castor and Pollux on that little 7 inch vinyl sampler that came packaged with my prized copy of Switched on Bach I was hooked.  That little sampler also pointed this (then 13 year old) listener to Berio’s Sinfonia, Nancarrow, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley.  And so it continues.  But it is not just nostalgia that recommends this disc, it is the definitive nature of the scholarship, the intelligence of the production, and the quality of both performances and recordings that make this an essential part of any serious collector of Partch, microtonal music, musicology, and good recordings in general.

With the aforementioned interest/fascination I reached a point where I had pretty much collected and listened to all I could find of Partch’s music.  Certainly everything of his had been recorded, right?  Well ain’t this a welcome kick in an old collector’s slats?  Not only have the folks at Bridge (read John Schneider) found and recorded a heretofore practically known composition but they’ve done it with a brand of reverence, scholarship, and quality of both recording and performances such that this is a collector’s dream and a major contribution to the history of microtonal musics and American music in general.

schneiderUtube

John Schneider from a You Tube screen capture

Let me start with the liner notes by producer John Schneider.  As one who is given to complain about the lack of liner notes I am so pleased to encounter such as these.  They alone are worth the price of the CD and read at times like the adventure they describe, to wit, this recording.  The tasteful and well designed (by one Casey Siu) booklet provides an intelligent guide to the music which enhances the listening experience.  Schneider’s web site also provides a wealth of information and references for further research.  Many would think that these liner notes are comprehensive as they are and there should be no need for anything more…so the link provided to even more info on the web site of the performing group on this disc, PARTCH.   These folks are Grammy winners and they perform on scholarly copies of the original Partch instruments executed by Schneider and his associates.  This release is solidly built from the ground up.

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PARTCH performing at RedCat copyright Redcat

PARTCH includes: Erin Barnes (Diamond Marimba, Cymbal, Bass), Alison Bjorkedal (Canons, Kitharas), Matt Cook (Canon, Cloud Chamber Bowls, Spoils of War), Vicki Ray (Canons, Chromelodeon, Surrogate Kithara), John Schneider (Adapted Guitars, Bowls, Canons, Spoils, Surrogate Kithara, Adapted Viols, Voice), Nick Terry (Boo, Hypobass), T.J. Troy (Adapted Guitar II, Bass Marimba, Voice), Alex Wand (Adapted Guitar III, Canons, Surrogate Kithara)

The 21 tracks contain five Partch compositions.  It opens with one of Partch’s more unusual pieces (for him), Ulysses at the Edge of the World (1962).  This piece was written for Chet Baker but Baker never got to play it.  It kind of sits a bit outside of Partch’s work and is his most direct use of the medium of “jazz”.  The piece has been recorded twice before.  For this recording two fine new music/jazz musicians were chosen, saxophonist Ulrich Krieger and trumpet player extraordinaire Daniel Rosenboom.  Excellent choices for this too little performed piece.

Tracks 2-13 contain the Twelve Intrusions (1950) which is basically an accompanied song cycle with instrumental pieces placed at the beginning.  These are great vintage Partch works but do read the liner notes on the evolution of Partch as he was writing these.  They describe some of Partch’s evolution during that time.

Next is another discovery (or restoration if you will).  Partch’s scores exist in various versions for various reasons.  Windsong (1958) was written as a film score for the Madeline Tourtelot film of that name.  It was later reworked into a dance drama (Daphne of the Dunes, 1967).  Here we have a live performance of the entire score which (read them notes) includes things not heard before, not to mention the most lucid sound of this recording.

Now to the putative star of this release, the Sonata Dementia (1950).  It too comes with some nice detective work allowing listeners to hear substantially what Partch intended but neither recorded nor rejected.  There are three movements and let me just say that they are captivating and substantial.  This deserves to be heard again and again.

Now two little bonus tracks (reminiscent in nature but not in content of the sampler I mentioned earlier) add significantly to Partch and his place in music history.  First is a Edison cylinder recording from 1904 of a traditional Isleta Indian chant which Partch, who had been hired to transcribe these songs, later incorporated into his music.  It’s early date and the nature of that old recording method provide a picture of early ethnomusicological work.

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Photo of Partch with adapted guitar found on web

The second bonus is a real gem.  Again, read the liner notes for more fascinating details.This is an important find, an acetate recording made of Partch performing his Barstow (1941) for an appreciative audience at the Eastman School of Music from November 3, 1942.  This early version (of at least three) for adapted guitar and voice was reconstructed by John Schneider and released on the Just West Coast album of 1993 (Bridge BCD 9041) and later performed so beautifully at Other Minds 14 in 2009.  But I believe that Schneider’s reconstruction predated the discovery of this recording.  Pretty validating to hear this now I would think.

It is this reviewer’s fondest hope that this wonderful Partch project will continue with its definitive survey of Partch’s work.  Bravo!!

 

 

 

LA Percussion in High Definition


Having been a bit overwhelmed with a LOT of percussion recordings lately I placed this Los Angeles Percussion Quartet recording a bit further back in my review queue.  My apologies but I did it because I really wanted to give this recording my full attention and then to have something useful to say.

So I listened.  I put this on in my car when making a trip long enough to allow me to hear one of the two discs without interruption.  And I chose a relatively non-distracting drive in which I could actually pay attention to the music without incurring some danger on the road.

Of course the first thing that strikes the listener here is the lucidity of the recording.  Sono Luminus is showing off their signal processing prowess as well as their sensitivity with things like microphone placement and all the things that only great engineers know.

Let me make one thing very clear.  I am not a fan of sonic spectacle for its own sake.  I recall one incarnation of vinyl/analog fetish releases which a friend drooled over but whose content bored me to death.  Fortunately Sono Luminus seems to be steering clear of that sand trap.

This two disc set (well, three if you count the Blu-Ray Audio disc) collects music by largely little known composers (at least to these ears).  But fear not, this is not music that sounds like someone knocked over the stainless steel pot rack at Sur le Table.  Quite the opposite.  This is some intelligent music which compels the listener to stick with each piece and follow its development.  This is apparently the fourth album by LAPQ, the previous three also being Sono Luminus productions.

The first disc begins with the first of two Icelandic composers both of whom were represented on a previously reviewed disc.  Daniel Bjarnason is a conductor and composer and his Qui Tollis, a work of wide dynamic range and a variety of moods from more assertive to more contemplative.  The second work is by the current darling of Icelandic classical music.  I am speaking, of course, of the very talented Anna Thorvaldsdottir.  Her work, Aura, is more consistently contemplative in nature and, like all her work, the listener is rewarded for paying close attention as she weaves magical impressionistic tapestries.

Memory Palace by Brooklyn based Christopher Cerrone piqued serious interest in this listener.  This man would seem to be a composer whose work deserves watching/listening.  This five movement suite for percussion indeed makes for compelling listening as he moves through a variety of moods and isn’t afraid of frank melodic invention during the journey.  This does not strike this reviewer as run of the mill percussion music (not that the preceding two works did either).  Rather this work suggests a distinctive compositional voice worthy of further attention.  Mr. Cerrone’s collection of awards including a Rome Prize and a runner up for a Pulitzer Prize suggests that he will be heard from again soon.

Fear-Release by Ellen Reid is a shorter though no less rewarding journey down yet another compositional path for percussion.  At just short of nine minutes this is a compact movement which relies on a fairly wide dynamic range and strategic use of silences and is a fitting close to the first disc.

The brief, rather poetic, liner notes draw a parallel between the multiplicity of languages found in the Los Angeles area and the multiplicity of musical languages found on this recording.  Indeed these are distinctive voices that extract a wide variety of sound from this percussion quartet.  This reviewer is somehow strongly reminded of Nexus, the Canadian percussion group which dominated the 1990s for a bit.  The similarity is in their enthusiasm and in their musical skills.  LAPQ is a distinct ensemble in its way and is a group that is not shy to be innovative.

I have to say, though, that I could have used a great deal more info and commentary on these compositions.  As one would benefit from multilingual dictionaries in Los Angeles the listener could gain much from learning more about the structure and intentions behind these fascinating compositions.  And, unless I have failed to find them (I looked closely) the liner notes carry lovely photos but fail to name the musicians whose sound was so lovingly preserved.  They are: Matt Cook, Justin DeHart, Nick Terry, and Justin Hills.

The concluding work coming in at almost 40 minutes is divided into tracks but is in fact one large movement.  It is probably the most contemplative work here though it has some pretty assertive moments.  I Hold the Lion’s Paw by Andrew McIntosh is a great show piece for demonstrating the range of these musicians.  Though continuous this piece delves through a variety of moods and uses apparently a wide variety of instruments as well.

Fans of percussion will love this disc as will fans of audio porn (there is something erotic about technology for the ears).  This is not easy listening and though seeking innovation makes no moves toward populism.  This is serious music making.