01/12/2022, 17:05 Treatise (music) - Wikipedia
Treatise (music)
Treatise is a musical composition by British composer Cornelius Cardew (1936–81).
Contents
Summary
In popular culture
References
External links
Summary
Written between 1963 and 1967, Treatise is a graphic musical score comprising 193 pages of lines,
symbols, and various geometric or abstract shapes that largely eschew conventional musical
notation. Implicit in the title is a reference to the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, which was of
particular inspiration to Cardew in composing the work.[1] The score is not accompanied by any
explicit instructions to the performers in how to perform the work, or what sound-producing
means are to be used. Although the bottom of each page has two five-line musical staves, this is
apparently not meant to suggest piano or other keyboard instrument(s), only to indicate that the
graphic elements are musical and not purely artistic in character.
Although the score allows for absolute interpretive freedom (no one interpretation will sound like
another), the work is not normally played spontaneously, as Cardew had previously suggested that
performers devise in advance their own rules and methods for interpreting and performing the
work. There are, however, almost infinite possibilities for the interpretation of Treatise that fall
within the implications of the piece and general principles of experimental music performance in
the late 1960s, including presentation as visual art and map-reading.[2]
The British composer Julian Anderson describes Treatise as "very suggestive musically...what's
wrong with playing, say 10 pages of Treatise only using the white notes, or only using maybe the
Dorian mode." The few available recordings, or more accurately, recordings of realisations of the
score, all adopt a relative slow tempo and a sonic world, which "sounds like AMM".[3]
Subsequently Cardew embraced Maoism and wholeheartedly repudiated this and other works of
his avant-garde period.[4] A savage indictment of Treatise may be seen in a speech delivered by
Cardew at the ‘International Symposium on the Problematic of Today’s Musical Notation’ held in
Rome in October 1972, as transcribed in his highly polemical book Stockhausen Serves
Imperialism (1974).[5] Curiously, Cardew did not withdraw Treatise from publication, despite his
repudiation.
In popular culture
Sonic Youth play a 3:29 minute excerpt of page 183 of Treatise on their album SYR4: Goodbye
20th Century (1999).
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01/12/2022, 17:05 Treatise (music) - Wikipedia
References
1. Dennis, Brian (June 1991). "Cardew's 'Treatise' (mainly the visual aspects)". Tempo (177): 10–
16. doi:10.1017/S0040298200013516 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0040298200013516).
2. Anderson, Virginia (December 2006). " "Well, It's a Vertebrate …": Performer Choice in
Cardew's Treatise". Journal of Musicological Research. 25 (3–4): 291–317.
doi:10.1080/01411890600840578 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F01411890600840578).
3. Anderson, J. and Dingle, C. Julian Anderson - Dialogues on Listening, Composing and Culture.
Woodbridge, The Boydell Press, 2020, p.139.
4. Cardew, Cornelius (1981). "Wiggly Lines and Wobbly Music". In Battcock, Gregory (ed.).
Breaking the Sound Barrier: a Critical Anthology of the New Music. New York.
5. Cardew, Cornelius (1974). Stockhausen serves imperialism, and other articles : with
commentary and notes (https://www.ubu.com/historical/cardew/cardew_stockhausen.pdf)
(PDF). London: Latimer New Dimensions. ISBN 9780901539298.
External links
An online animated analysis of Treatise (http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/picturesof
music/pages/anim.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20060219065313/http://www.blo
ckmuseum.northwestern.edu/picturesofmusic/pages/anim.html) 2006-02-19 at the Wayback
Machine at the Block Museum Website
Online recordings of Treatise by the Seattle Improv Meeting (http://www.spiralcage.com/improv
Meeting/) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20060619193347/http://www.spiralcage.com/i
mprovMeeting/) 2006-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
A draft version of Virginia Anderson, '"Well, It's a Vertebrate" Performer Choice in Cardew's
Treatise'. (https://www.academia.edu/3551075/Well_Its_a_Vertebrate_Performer_Choice_in_C
ardews_Treatise)
Animated electronic realization of "Treatise" by Shawn Feeney (https://web.archive.org/web/20
140223084734/http://www.shawnfeeney.com/treatise/)
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