1 by 8 by 3
More Program Notes
Skittering
is a structured improvisation in the shape of a long crescendo. The directions read, in part, Skittering sounds cresc poco a poco. Begin sparsely & very, very, VERY gradually increase. Start soft with short strings of short notes. Begin with 1 mouse scampering in kitchen ... end with mass of mice devouring house--quietly! Cover range of all instruments--begin with a few drops & eventually become a downpour raining cats & dogs (devouring the mice!).
These directions provide only a starting point, and in performance the inelegant mixing of metaphors is ignored so that the shape of the music is largely determined by real-time decision-making. The introductory and midpoint mandolin lines were created by Max Buckholtz as pre-echoes
of the concluding Canzona
section, and the midpoint samples of dancer voices were recorded and composed by Rob Collins. Near the end are riffs composed by Max as variations on a tone row constructed by Allen Fogelsanger.
The richness of the drone in Ritual
is a result of Rob's digital manipulation of a number of samples, including Max on viola, Allen on trombone, and Rob on Tibetan bowls. This drone creates the space within which the live performance evolves, anchored by Rob on djembe, ornamented by Allen on various percussion, but consisting primarily of Max's viola improvisation. Following without a break, the first two thirds of Waves,
for violin and piano and for recorder trio respectively, are through-composed while the last third consists of a computer sequence created by Allen accompanied by Max and Rob ad lib. The computer sequence repeats, transposes, and accelerates the recorder music, the harmonies of which were derived from the violin and piano duet.
Wind
is another structured improv, here including a beer bottle introduction not played at the dance concert. Allen and Max's whistled end of Wind
overlaps with Rob's opening synthesizer solo in Arvo,
a section which attempts to emulate the simplicity of the music of the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. It is a largely through-composed section, but with plenty of room for variation in performance and an improvised violin solo by Max to finish. The end of Arvo
is then enveloped by Noise,
which features Rob's samples prominently (as to some extent did Wind
) and culminates with the retrograde inversion of the computer sequence in Waves.
The concluding Canzona
is the section most like more traditional improvised music, in which a simple chord structure and phrase organization is largely set and the musicians play freely within such constraints.
Largely unacknowledged here is the participation of the dancers as sound-makers in the original performnace. Dancer-spoken words occupied key spots in concert: during the recorder trio in Waves,
in the silence between Noise
and Canzona,
and as a pointed response to the musicians that cued the final chord sequence in Canzona.
In this recording only a hint of their voices remain, in the samples found at the midpoint of Skittering
and occasionally appearing in Wind
and Noise.
We regret this loss; however, the loss of the noise of dancers landing on the stage floor is perhaps not so regrettable.
Dancers in 1 by 8: Nawaaz Ahmed, Sarita Appavu, Rachel Boggia, Katie Dealy, Nadia Drake, Lesley Gholston, Cheryl Hunt, Pamela Rose Kelly, Deborah Lacy, Ellen London, Lena Rose Magee, Elizabeth Mao, Sharon Osborne, Stephanie Solazzo, Laura Summers, Tatiana Adeline Thieme, Erin Towler.
Thanks to Janice Kovar for the use of her miniature bells, to Chuck Hatcher for making the dance concert sound so good, and to the choreographers for their crucial input into the process of creating the music. Special thanks to each of the dancers for their vocal participation and inspiring performing.
Recorded by Rob Collins at the Fogelsanger & Lai Studio Gallery July 26-27, 2000 and June 5-6, 2001. Produced by Rob Collins. Due to webspace limitations only some tracks are online. For a CD contact Allen Fogelsanger at Armadillo Dance Project.