The first movement of Two Koans and a Canon (1982) is entitled "First Koan (a gentler Beast)" and constitutes a variation upon Tenney's earlier Beast (1971) for solo double bass. It nonetheless shares with much of his subsequent music a ruthless simplification of form and structure that eschews narrative drama in order to highlight the subjective processes and perceptions of the listener. For 12 String (rising) (1971) represents an arrangement for strings of Tenney's classic electroacoustic composition For Ann (rising) (1969), which predated his interest in harmony. A paradigmatic example is provided by Harmonium #1 (1976). His attraction to these topics was simultaneously intellectual and sensuous, and its musical products at once invite both sustained reflection and the most immediate of corporeal responses.Ī number of his works feature pitch collections that progressively approach or diverge from the structure of the harmonic series, or that gradually move between its "harmonically complex" or "dissonant" upper reaches and its "harmonically simple" or "consonant" lower regions. Asked whether he would describe his music as "Sound for the sake of sound," James Tenney (1934-2006) replied, "It's sound for the sake of perceptual insight-some kind of perceptual revelation." This release aptly demonstrates Tenney's deep exploratory fascination with the nature and potentialities of aural perception.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |