Sonic Inertia Fund Raiser
2007-10-04
The Sonic Inertia Performance Group held its annual fundraiser at an Evanston Church
Performed by Matthew Coley, percussion; Joshua Manchester, percussion; Annie Stevens, percussion; Bjorn Berkhout, cello; Todd Nickow, clarinet; Mary Drews, piano;
Music files of the Songs:
The Kagel drum I play on the concert
Here is a write up published in the Emit Series of music newsletter:
"MAURICIO KAGEL
A composer's unique imprint on music history manifests in a new instrument.
Since being told by Brian Ferneyhough in 1998 that classical music was doomed to extinction, I've been observing this phenomenon in his terms, as the ossification of historical practices turns away from interpretation and stagnates to preservation. Ferneyhough just won the 2007 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, so his apocryphal vision for the end must now include himself. Ferneyhough writes incredibly complex music, and he sees in his new virtuosity the limit of what is possible for the human mind to accomplish. It's odd that he understands his place in a continuum that has a limited future, yet continues down the path nonetheless. But there are other ways.
Mauricio Kagel is an Argentinean composer who has been seeking new routes and aesthetics since the 50s of the twentieth century. Often including in his scores such shocking extraneous information as facial expression, demeanor towards the other performers, and minute descriptions of timbre production, Kagel is known for bringing theatrical elements in an irreverent, anti-intellectual approach. When he began, the use of extended techniques was nothing new to the oeuvre; however, Kagel's inspiration and creativity in the subject made those who would listen realize that it was a limitless field. Cellist Siegfried Palm, who premiered Kagel's work Match, had this to say about the work: ". . . the exciting thing is that both cellos (after all, the piece lasts thirteen minutes) did not play a single note that was not somehow estranged or denatured. But not with simple means, such as at the bridge or the like, but created by touching the nail on the string or under the string, for example. Or with a half-harmonic where a harmonic was not even possible. That makes this piece so exceptionally important for the cello. It remains a stunning piece." His expanded concept of music included not only timbral innovation, but also an interest in motion and the visual effect of performance. An important precursor, John Cage had made issue of the beauty of ambience and noise, seeing no distinction with the musical sounds produced in the concert hall. His sentiments would resonate with musicians like Mauricio Kagel, coping with a rapidly changing world, and disseminating into other genres such as jazz. In his autobiography, Miles Davis explains the vast changes in his music throughout his career, including going electric, as responses to the urbanization of his surroundings. This remains an issue, and many still grapple with the intense isolation that conversely results from the overcrowding and accelerating pace of life.
Tracing a finger along these undercurrents to the present day, one finds a cadre of improvising musicians who make their home in these extended techniques, carrying them from the supplemental realm of imitative special effects to the vocabulary of a new language, a better language, in which timbre joins frequency and rhythm on equal footing.
It is with these observances of a musical continuum, and my place in it, that I have aggregated a calico of extended techniques into a snare drum, which I dedicate to Mauricio Kagel. This drum has a series of strings extending from its head, which are acoustically amplified when excited. A friction rod, doorstop, and springs are available to the performer. The airtight shell is lined with rice, and a tube has been installed to change the pitch of whatever happens to be exciting the drum at the time. Of course, the Kagel drum can be played with drumsticks as well.
Another factor contributing to the use of extended techniques is the technology of our age. The ability of electronics to produce any sound, whether imagined or unexpected, has influenced our hearing in ways we cannot fully understand; consequently composers, performers, and listeners repeatedly find themselves informed of a new aesthetic. As a world of musical possibilities expands before us, the Kagel Drum serves as an acoustic response." -Joshua Manchester