 ALVIN LUCIER
Anthony Burr / Charles Curtis
[Antiopic / Sigma Editions, www.antiopic.com]
At this point in his life, 75 year old Alvin Lucier can rest assured that
his work as a minimalist composer of considerable stature will not go by the
wayside His use of bare minimums throughout his compositions will forever
be talked about for generations to come. Pieces such as "I am Sitting in a
Room" and "Music for Alpha Waves, Assorted Percussion, and Automated Coded
Relays" will sit in many critics' minds for years on end as suitable
dissertation material. This new CD set sets out to dispense any notions
that Lucier may be getting senile in the fall of his life. Starting off
with a 20-minute long epic "In Memoriam John Higgins (1987)", Lucier
immediately lets the listener know that the pure wave oscillator [that he's
so fond of] will in fact be a mainstay of this set. Clarinettist Anthony
Burr holds one single note, while a pure wave oscillator moves the tone and
octave of the note up very gradually. By the finale of the piece, the
listener's ears are buzzing with familiarity of this high-pitched mechanism
that simply spins around in its own imaginary drone-time world. By the time
we get around to "Still and Moving Lines of Silence in Families of
Hyperbolas, Part I Number 1 (1984)", the clarinet note produced by Burr is
moving in another direction altogether. The pure wave oscillator still
keeps the buzzing at a maximum, but this time around the waves are somehow
closer, somehow warmer and less alienating. The humming is still lazier and
somewhat cozier on "Still and Moving Lines of Silence in Families of
Hyperbolas, Part III Number 11". Cello played here by Charles Curtis
responds to the oscillator well, in turn producing a deep bass, almost
horn-like sound that is heard frequently throughout the piece. The odd
thing is the recording is full of beatless beats. These are simply beats
that are audible to the human ear when tones of slightly different frequency
are heard by two separate ears. Also called binaural beats, they are
prevalent on the second disc. Specifically written for cellist Charles
Curtis, "Charles Curtis (2002)" features one elongated cello note, which
mixed with the pure wave oscillators makes a humming, most often droning
experience. When cello becomes "recognizable" at the tail end of the piece,
recognition factor only lasts a few seconds. Then it's off to the binaural
beats again. These miniscule beats are everywhere here. In fact, after
shutting off the CD, I had the waves of these pieces embedded in on my ear
drums. Truly, an unforgettable, palatable and a coherent release from a
composer still shining bright in the autumn of his years.
- Tom Sekowski
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RECENZJE
+ Caliban - The Undying Darkness
+ Darzamat - Transkarpatia
+ John Zorn - '50 Anniversery Concert: Painkiller
+ Allen Ginsberg - New York Blues: Rags, Ballads & Harmonium Songs
+ Kenneth Patchen - Jazz in Canada
+ Sten Hanson - Text-Sound Gems & Trinkets
+ Ayuo - Aoi
+ Fushitsusha - Origin's Hesitation
+ Ms. John Soda - Notes And The Like
+ Readymade FC - Paradiso
+ Pulsarus - Digital Freejazz / Łoskot - Sun
+ Miwon - Pale Glitter
+ Maximum Joy - Unlimited 1979 - 1983
+ Water Lily - Dissdance / Lopazz/Bad Cop Bad Cop - Lasergun/Cube 1
+ Karol Schwarz All Stars - Greatest Hits
+ Jackson & His Computer Band - Smash
+ Isolee - Western Store
+ Johannes Heil - Freaks R Us
+ Dell - Flugel - Superstructure
+ Evan Parker Trio and Peter Brotzmann Trio - The Bishop's Move
+ Erast - Cyberpunk
+ Dictaphone - Vertigo II
+ Ed Davenport - Diminuendo
+ Creme De Menthe - The Impossibility Of Evolution In The Suburbs
+ Context Unrevelled
+ Banabila & Monoscope - Live Mix
+ Phillip Sollmann - Something Is Missing
+ Stereo Total - Discotheque
+ Miles Tilmann - Xenon
+ The Timeout Drawer - Alone
- - - - - - - - -
+ MASSACRE - Killing Time / SKELETON CREW - The Country of Blinds / Learn to Talk
+ MICHEL DONEDA - L'Élémentaire Sonore / Solo Las Planques
+ EXPLODING CUSTOMER - Live at Tampere Jazz Happening
+ LEM - Put a Lem in Your Pocket / APARTMENT - Apantgarde / KIWAKO KANEDA - Mountainbook
+ MICHAEL McGOLDRICK - Wired
+ STEPHEN FLINN / NOAH PHILLIPS DUO AND TRIO WITH TIM PERKINS - Square Circle
+ MICATONE - Nomad Songs
+ NEXT LIFE - Electric Violence
+ DELL + FLUGEL - Superstructure
+ K.K. NULL / CHRIS WATSON / Z'EV - Number One
+ OREN MARSHALL - Introduction to the Story of Spedy Sponda, Part One: In a Silent Room
+ THANKSGIVING - Thanksgiving / MARATHON MEN - Blessings / ALESSANDRA ROMBOLA - Urueńa / CHESSIE - Dual Mode / ROBIN FOX & CLAYTON THOMAS - Substation / HAMMOCK - Kenotic / Stranded Under Endless Sky / VARIOUS ARTISTS - Boogybytes, Vol. 1 - Mixed by Kiki / TETSU INOUE - Yolo / DALE LLOYD - Semper / ANTHONY GUERRA / NISHIDE TAKEHIRO - Scopa Possibilities / YUKO NEXUS6 - Nexus6 Songbook
+ MIKE LADD - Negrophilia / Mike Ladd Presents Father Divine
+ SPACEMEN 3 - Forged Prescriptions / SPECTRUM - Refractions - Thru The Rhythms of Time: 1989-1997
+ STEVE LEHMAN - Demian as Posthuman
+ THE BEAUTIFUL NEW BORN CHILDREN - Hey People! / SONS AND DAUGHTERS - The Repulsion Box / FIRE ENGINES - Codex Teenage Premonition / ORANGE JUICE - The Glasgow School
>> ALVIN LUCIER - Anthony Burr / Charles Curtis
+ HOWE GELB - 'Sno Angel Like You / ARIZONA AMP AND ALTERNATOR - Arizona Amp and Alternator
+ JIMMY EDGAR - Color Strip
+ 3/4HadBeenEliminated - 3/4HadBeenEliminated / 3/4HadBeenEliminated - A Year of the Aural Gauge Operation
+ GINO ZARDO - Walking East
+ RICHARD CHARTIER - Tracing
- - - - - - - - -
WYWIADY / RELACJE
+ Tajemnicza emocja - wywiad z Kostasem Georgakopulos [Progrram]
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