No more piano!

That's it. I've left the mansion now. So I've got to find a way of keeping up the blog without it. Hmmm. A creative challenge!

Eerie christmas

This eerie christmas improvisation doesn't really work, which I find interesting. It's quite disturbing, partly because (I think) there is no recognisable human voice here.

anger

This is not a vitriolic post, but something's happened this evening which has made my insides turn into knots. This is not a feeling I've had for some time. What's the mechanism for this emotion? It involves two clashing world-views, each one insisting that the other is different to ensure their own viability, each one perceiving threat in the changes that are being demanded of it. As with any double-bind, there is no way out. Change isn't possible, not-change will only heighten conflict. And so we have instant pathology, with a direct biological response to boot. Strangely, I feel better for having written this.

Sympathy and resonance

Thinking about sympathy and resonance in voices (following on from yesterday). This improvisation has one clear voice (a repeated melody .. a single pattern.. which is varied) and some sort of accompaniment which serves to bring out details, aspects of it. The classic 'litany' idea of continual reharmonisation from French music is a particular example of this (thinking of Alexander Goehr..).

Eastern voice

Heard some amazing Turkish classical music this evening.. the modes used (phrygian, etc) create a very sensuous effect, and clearly there is a lot of melismatic voice over a drone bass. Definitely melody and accompaniment. Two voices? no, I think the drone simply 'amplifies' the voice.. it resonates sympathetically.. (interestingly we were talking about sympathetic magic and the Lescaux caves this afternoon...). The distinction between sympathy and conflict needs more thinking about!

The joker's voice

Here's some Haydn (which I used to be able to play better than I can now!). Haydn is a juxtaposer - that's where Beethoven got it from. But the frequent and unexpected changes in texture and mood are there to create a sense of fun.. humour in places (if it's done well). What's the voice? Like Bach, there are places where there are many voices. But I think really it's the voice of the skilled comedian, playing with our expectations. This is the voice that knows how voices work, and how we expect voices to work, and knows how to surprise us... it is a 'knowing' voice (Shakespeare is like this too)

For Astrid

I'm still exploring voices, which gave me the idea of doing some Schubert - which is all about melody and the profound evocation of a 'voice'. There is little music in the world as beautiful as this. And the words are a deep expression of love. So this is for Astrid.