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Machine Music for Piano, Percussion and Tape (1964)
I. Trio I
II. Solo I (Piano)--Duo I (Tape and Percussion)--Solo II (Piano)
III. Solo III (Tape)--Duo II (Percussion and Piano)--Solo IV (Tape)
IV. Solo V (Percussion)--Duo II (Piano and Tape)--Solo VI (Percussion)
V. Trio II
Roger Shields, piano
Jeffery Kowalsky, percussion
Although compositions involving both performers and tape were hardly a novelty even in 1964, it was not so usual to make the tape part so closely related to the instrumental parts as is done here. The tape recorder part throughout exchanges musical materials with the other two instruments much in the manner of a normal instrumental trio.
Machine Music possesses a symmetrical arch form. Trio I is a compact sonata form movement with the main section set at a furioso tempo (1 = 216).
Each Duo and each Solo lasts precisely one minute. The Three Duos are closely related musically, as are Solo I and Solo V I and Solo II and Solo V. Solo III and Solo IV are derived in turn from these. The instrumentation is so arranged that each performer has the opportunity to play a given basic musical structure once and just once. Moreover, the tape recorder enters in every other section throughout the composition, thus permitting its operator each time to cue up and get set for his next entry. Incidentally, the tape part is fully notated in the score, not only for documentation, but also for the benefit of the performers, since they must precisely co-ordinate themselves to it as well as one to one another.
The three Duos are identical melodically and rhythmically, but differ from one another not only in terms of instrumentation and hence tone color but also "tonally" by successive transpositions by a major third (G#-C-E). The music itself, in 5/4 meter and most simply laid out in Duo II, is built up from four basic "lines." Line 1, consists of four notes, assigned durations of 4, 5, 6, and 7 beats respectively. This guarantees a non-repeating accompaniment for 420 beats, so I set 210 beats as the total length for each Duo, since the next 210 beats would be the same except for the four-beat note. The "tune" of Line 3, played on the piano strings in Duo II, uses only the other 8 notes of the chromatic scale. Line 3 also contains rhythmic interpolations to fill in beats not supplied elsewhere. Line 2 is a 3-bar ostinato based on three notes repeated 4 times on beats 1, 4, 7 and 10 of each bar. Line 1 consists first of a repeated note on beats 2 and 6 of every bar and second of a note pattern that chromatically expands outwards (in the bells in Duo II from Ab up to F and down to C).
Solo I is simply a chord played on the piano pp according to the metric plan (1 +2+3+ . . . +10). Solo V I is the retrograde of this played ff by the percussionist. Solo III is the combination of these on tape played mf. The duration of each sound event in this tape cue is exactly 0.5 second. The contents of these sound events are random cuttings from all the work tapes used to make the other five cues.
Solo II, for the solo piano, consists of four contrasting ideas presented in bars 1 through 4. Each idea is developed independently in successive bars by transposition, inversion, retrogradation, systematic shifting of material within the bar, and so on. The details of all these changes are easily perceived in the published score. Then, since there are 24 bars in all, each item occurs 6 times and occurs according to the following symmetrical system: /1234,/4123/3412/2143/3214/4321/
Solo V is essentially the same music, this time, however, reconceived for percussion. I have been told by several percussionists that this is the most difficult piece they know of in the percussion literature. Finally, Solo IV is generally related to these two virtuosic soli in that it is dense and aggressive in texture. The sounds on the tape here are also reminiscent of the two Trios.
Trio II, of course, serves as a traditional finale and climax. Remember that this is a piece meant to go somewhere dramatically and not just be a chunk of soundscape. Trio II not only contains many elements derived from the Trio I in particular but also the bulk of the more theatrical elements in the work - the use of a roller toy, the title of the composition spoken backwards on the tape and the close terminated by an alarm clock. --Lejaren Hiller
Art by John McCracken
Machine Music for Piano, Percussion and Tape (1964)
I. Trio I
II. Solo I (Piano)--Duo I (Tape and Percussion)--Solo II (Piano)
III. Solo III (Tape)--Duo II (Percussion and Piano)--Solo IV (Tape)
IV. Solo V (Percussion)--Duo II (Piano and Tape)--Solo VI (Percussion)
V. Trio II
Roger Shields, piano
Jeffery Kowalsky, percussion
Although compositions involving both performers and tape were hardly a novelty even in 1964, it was not so usual to make the tape part so closely related to the instrumental parts as is done here. The tape recorder part throughout exchanges musical materials with the other two instruments much in the manner of a normal instrumental trio.
Machine Music possesses a symmetrical arch form. Trio I is a compact sonata form movement with the main section set at a furioso tempo (1 = 216).
Each Duo and each Solo lasts precisely one minute. The Three Duos are closely related musically, as are Solo I and Solo V I and Solo II and Solo V. Solo III and Solo IV are derived in turn from these. The instrumentation is so arranged that each performer has the opportunity to play a given basic musical structure once and just once. Moreover, the tape recorder enters in every other section throughout the composition, thus permitting its operator each time to cue up and get set for his next entry. Incidentally, the tape part is fully notated in the score, not only for documentation, but also for the benefit of the performers, since they must precisely co-ordinate themselves to it as well as one to one another.
The three Duos are identical melodically and rhythmically, but differ from one another not only in terms of instrumentation and hence tone color but also "tonally" by successive transpositions by a major third (G#-C-E). The music itself, in 5/4 meter and most simply laid out in Duo II, is built up from four basic "lines." Line 1, consists of four notes, assigned durations of 4, 5, 6, and 7 beats respectively. This guarantees a non-repeating accompaniment for 420 beats, so I set 210 beats as the total length for each Duo, since the next 210 beats would be the same except for the four-beat note. The "tune" of Line 3, played on the piano strings in Duo II, uses only the other 8 notes of the chromatic scale. Line 3 also contains rhythmic interpolations to fill in beats not supplied elsewhere. Line 2 is a 3-bar ostinato based on three notes repeated 4 times on beats 1, 4, 7 and 10 of each bar. Line 1 consists first of a repeated note on beats 2 and 6 of every bar and second of a note pattern that chromatically expands outwards (in the bells in Duo II from Ab up to F and down to C).
Solo I is simply a chord played on the piano pp according to the metric plan (1 +2+3+ . . . +10). Solo V I is the retrograde of this played ff by the percussionist. Solo III is the combination of these on tape played mf. The duration of each sound event in this tape cue is exactly 0.5 second. The contents of these sound events are random cuttings from all the work tapes used to make the other five cues.
Solo II, for the solo piano, consists of four contrasting ideas presented in bars 1 through 4. Each idea is developed independently in successive bars by transposition, inversion, retrogradation, systematic shifting of material within the bar, and so on. The details of all these changes are easily perceived in the published score. Then, since there are 24 bars in all, each item occurs 6 times and occurs according to the following symmetrical system: /1234,/4123/3412/2143/3214/4321/
Solo V is essentially the same music, this time, however, reconceived for percussion. I have been told by several percussionists that this is the most difficult piece they know of in the percussion literature. Finally, Solo IV is generally related to these two virtuosic soli in that it is dense and aggressive in texture. The sounds on the tape here are also reminiscent of the two Trios.
Trio II, of course, serves as a traditional finale and climax. Remember that this is a piece meant to go somewhere dramatically and not just be a chunk of soundscape. Trio II not only contains many elements derived from the Trio I in particular but also the bulk of the more theatrical elements in the work - the use of a roller toy, the title of the composition spoken backwards on the tape and the close terminated by an alarm clock. --Lejaren Hiller
Art by John McCracken
