Search - Paul Lansky, Larry [Composer] Austin, John Melby :: CDCM Computer Music Series Vol. 10 - The Virtuoso in the Computer Age (I)

Fine blend of music from Man and Machine

Steve Benner | Lancaster, UK | 11/18/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With the tenth volume of their Computer Music Series, Centaur records and the Consortium to Distribute Computer Music (CDCM) depart from their earlier practice of featuring the works of just one particular studio per disc. Instead, the focus here is on works that integrate computers and live performers in an exploration of modern connotations on the term `virtuoso'. The release dates from 1991 but features works written between 1966 and 1985. Five composers, from a range of US universities are represented on it. They are all, of course, male, white and American.The opening work is a substantial, 20-minute work for string trio and computer-synthesised sound, "As If" (1981-2) by Paul Lansky. The work's four subtitled movements are each designed to draw contrasts between aspects of the way Western art music is traditionally presented to a live audience and the more everyday, domestic experience of the reception of recorded music via inanimate loudspeakers. The first movement, `In Preparation', presents a study in tuning. It develops in a most cunning way from its opening sounds of a string ensemble going through its pre-performance tuning ritual - an effective trick that throws the listener off balance from the start and which should work particularly well in performance. The tape dimension to the work is used to fool the listener further, frequently pulling the tuning around in ways that a live performer simply couldn't achieve - all in a most luscious manner, too. In the second movement, `At a Distance', the tape part provides a resonant and ringing acoustic space within which the live players seek to orient themselves, while the third, `In Practice', pits solo (synthesised and almost oriental sounding) violin - playing as if practising - against the lyrical ensemble work of the trio. The final movement, `In Distinction', contrasts a graceful jazz improvisation with hard-driving and rhythmic string playing and provides a lively conclusion to the work. While some of the ideas behind the work may not be entirely original, their execution here by the Trio Fevoré simply cannot be faulted. The work has moments of great beauty, with lush and juicy string tones, as well as some dazzling sonic transformations. Throughout the work, the synthesised violin part and computer-processed sounds integrate fully into the sound-world of the live players, providing an entirely sympathetic and, at times, seamless extension to the traditional string playing techniques. One frequently cannot tell which lines are synthetic and which attributable to the live players - until the sound undergoes some strange contortion that gives the game away. All in all, this work has much within it to enjoy as well as to ponder. Although some twenty years old now, this work nevertheless has something of a timeless quality to it, which should stand it in good stead for many years to come.Violinist Robert Davidovici is the live soloist in the next work, "Montage: Themes and Variations for Violin and Computer Music on Tape" (1985) by Larry Austin. The intuitively composed themes from which this work is constructed are all slow and searing affairs, first stated, in succession, by soloist alone. When the tape part enters, it starts as a layered exposition of the themes already presented. Out of these, new computer-generated variations gradually emerge to form a dense and luscious sound world, constructed from an ensemble of nine hybrid synthetic instruments, through which the ethereal, live violin line positively soars. This is another powerfully engaging work, well worth a listen.There is some relief from string tones with the next work, John Melby's 17-minute "Concerto #1 for Flute and Computer-Synthesized Tape" (1984). This work probably matches most people's preconceived idea of the way computer music sounds. It features a virtuosic live flute line, played quite charmingly here by Rachel Rudich, against an orchestra of electronic tones, tinkles and textures, all of which works rather well, although the total stereo separation of the two tracks of the computer-generated part makes for hard listening, especially through headphones. Really though, it shouldn't take more than a couple of hearings for even the most sceptical of newcomers to the genre to accept the beauty of this work and to settle to the naturalness of the sonorities it presents. The two final works on the disc have much in common with each other, both being composed (and performed here) by members of the contemporary music performance collective, Challenge, based at Mills College, Oakland, CA. Both are also works in which highly structured fast and furious pre-composed music clashes with the improvised in large-scale atonal adventures in sound. David Rosenboom's "A Precipice in Time" dates from 1966 and is clearly the more dated of the two. By comparison, Anthony Braxton's "Composition No. 107" (1982) is more daring and more challenging. Some would probably say it was more cacophonous, too, as it stretches the playing abilities of the saxophonist and percussionist in particular to the utmost. It is reminiscent of much of the output of the late Iannis Xenakis, although with a greater improvisatory component. It is a shame we only get a 7-minute extract here.In summary, this is a fine survey of late twentieth century computer music, all with a live performance element. It is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in contemporary directions in classical music."