composition
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Notes On “Arvo Pärt: 24 Preludes For A Fugue”
“A composition comes as a single gesture which is already, in essence, music. (…) The compositional task is to find the appropriate system for the gesture.” – Arvo Pärt in Paul Hillier, Arvo Pärt (Oxford U. Press,1997), p.201 In the documentary “Arvo Pärt: 24 Preludes For A Fugue” there’s a remarkable seven minute scene (10:30-17:02) in which we Continue reading
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On Finding Cross-Sensory Inspiration: The Spell Of Michel Bras
The Michelin-starred, self-taught French chef Michel Bras may as well be a music composer, such is his multi-sensory approach to his culinary craft. In the ambient and thoughtful documentary Inventing Cuisine: Michel Bras (2008), directed by Paul Lacoste, we see Bras at work on the kitchen–poaching fish, peeling veggies, brooding over his (fascinating) sketchbooks, and Continue reading
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On The Sound Of Epic Achievement And Luxury: A Rolex Soundtrack
While overdosing on Wimbledon 2012 TV coverage over the past few weeks, I noticed a recurring ad for Rolex watches that features Roger Federer. In the 30-second spot the narrator begins by asking “When is greatness achieved?” as we see a montage of Federer’s milestone wins throughout his career interspersed with still shots of him Continue reading
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On Beginnings And Anywheres: A John Cage Aphorism
I see the words on an inspirational magnet in a shop window. “Begin anywhere” the late American experimental composer John Cage (1912-1992) tells us. But what was the point of this telling? Cage in fact walked the walk of his talk, relying on rolling dice, consulting the Chinese I-Ching book of hexagrams, and even scrutinizing the Continue reading
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On The Musicality Of M.C. Escher
“Order is repetition of units. Chaos is multiplicity without rhythm.” “My work is a game, a very serious game.” “Are you really sure that a floor can’t also be a ceiling?” – M.C. Escher I’ve long been curious about M.C. Escher’s (1898-1972) drawings and woodcuts because of their precision, their order and symmetry, their use Continue reading
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Sound Decisions: On Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking, Fast and Slow”
“Instinct puts us in the moment, intellect is slower.” – Robert Fripp “The proof that you truly understand a pattern of behavior is that you know how to reverse it.” – Daniel Kahneman Sometimes while working on writing new music I’ve noticed how I oscillate between two frames of mind. One frame feels spontaneous and intuitive. Continue reading
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Ventrilo-Dialogue: A Conversation With Arvo Pärt
Chant: “(Advocatam) Llibre Vermell de Montserrat” Arvo Pärt: “Da Pacem Domine” Arvo Pärt: “Mein Weg” Aphex Twin: “Rhubarb” (Note: If you are looking for further musical juxtapositions, press play on the chant clip and when it arrives at 0:05 press play on the first Pärt clip [and turn up its volume slightly] and listen to the mix.) Continue reading
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On Drumming, Primitiveness, Wood, And Overtones: Michael Gordon’s “Timber”
You could make the argument that percussionists are as defined by their musical actions as by the objects of those actions–by the fact that they percuss on whatever can be percussed upon. And they don’t just play snare drums, timpani, and xylophone either. Partly thanks to the influence of “world” percussion traditions (of Indonesia, sub-Saharan Continue reading
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On Play
Play, I’ve come to realize, is a favorite word of mine. In no particular order, here are some possible contexts for it: He plays that piano well. The book’s title was a play on words. My dog is playful. No worries: we were just playing around. You just got played. The musicians were playing off Continue reading
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