" – Peu importe d’où l’on vient. Il n’y a pas de tonique. Le thème et son développement ne sont qu’un mirage…
Il y a une musique toujours inattendue.
– Et les dissonances ?
– Dieu les a créées, elles aussi…"
Jaume Cabré - "Voyage d'hiver" - 2014

”La terre, il se pourrait bien après tout que ce soit une espèce
de merveilleux petit appareil enregistreur, plaçé là par on ne sait qui,
pour capter tous les bruits qui circulent mystérieusement dans l’Univers.”
Pierre Reverdy - ”En vrac” - 1929

”J’entends tous les bruits de la terre grâce à mes oreilles et mes nerfs de cristal
dans lesquels circulent le feu du ciel et celui des volcans.”
Michel Leiris - ”Le point cardinal” - 1927

"L'écoute, c'est l'ombre de la composition"
Pascal Dusapin - 2008

 

Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Cornelius Cardew. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Cornelius Cardew. Afficher tous les articles

01/05/2025

Tilbury & Cardew

 

 The famous British pianist John Tilbury was invited in 2009 for the french exhibition "The freedom of the listening" at CAC de Brétigny sur Orge in 2009 (directed at that time by Pierre Bal-Blanc). The purpose of the exhibition, curated by Dean Inkster, Lore Gablier and myself, retraced the artistic career of the English composer Cornelius Cardew who died tagically in 1981 at the age of 45.

For this occasion, John Tilbury, whose close friendship with Cardew dates from the early 1960, played different piano pieces for prepared pinao including the third of the Cardew's  "February Pieces for Piano". Here is an extract of the piano recital-talk he performed. The complete performance of this lecture is archived here .


 

"February Pieces for Piano - N°3"   by John Tilbury  -  17th may 2009 


more infos in the Cardew's biography by John Tilbury"a life unfinished"

 more on Cornelius Cardew on "beyond the coda"  here 

Pictures by Steeve Beckouet - courtesy CAC Brétigny 2009

 <_-CC-_>

01/07/2022

Originale


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A movie around Stockhausen's "Originale" piece.

 
 
 
”Originale” de Stockhausen est une pièce créée en 1961 pour des musiciens, peintre, poète, chanteur, caméraman, acteurs et bien d'autres. Une véritable pièce "free-style" des années 60 basée sur une atmosphère ambiante surréaliste, inspirée par Samuel Beckett et Alain Robbe-Grillet, combinant une partition structurée et une série d'improvisations à l'image des premiers "happenings", avec un casting inhabituel de personnages: un pianiste, un percussionniste, un technicien du son, un metteur en scène, un caméraman, un éclairagiste, un compositeur , un peintre en action, un poète, un chanteur de rue, un vestiaire, un vendeur de journaux, un mannequin, un enfant, un dresseur d’animaux, un chef d'orchestre et cinq acteurs lisant un montage de textes hétéroclites. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 Ishmael Houston-Jones as performer II
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
"Originale", commisionned by Hubertus Durek, manager of the Theater am Dom in Cologne, was created in 1961 for musicians, painter, poet, singer, cameraman, actors and many others.
A real 60s' "free-styled" piece based on surreal ambient atmosphere, inspired by Samuel Beckett and Alain Robbe-Grillet, which combined a structured score with a improvisational framework of early "happenings".

An unusual assortment of "characters" are introduced in "Originale", including a pianist, a percussionist, a sound technician, a stage director, a cameraman, a lighting technician, an action composer, an action painter, a poet, a street singer, a coat checker, a newspaper vendor, a fashion model, a child (playing with blocks), a animal handler with animal, a conductor, and five actors reading a collage of unrelated texts.






Joan Jonas as the Action Painter.
at "The Kitchen" - 7 November 2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
En septembre 1964, à New York, pour le ”Second Annual New York Festival of the Avant Garde”, cette pièce est mise en scène par Allan Kaprow, avec James Tenney, Nam June Paik, Dick Higgins, Jackson Mac Low, Max Neuhaus, Charlotte Moorman, Alvin Lucier, Allen Ginsberg et bien d'autres...   

In New York City, for the "Second Annual New York Festival of the Avant Garde" on september 1964, the piece was directed by Allan Kaprow, with James Tenney, Nam June Paik, Dick Higgins, Jackson Mac Low, Max Neuhaus, Charlotte Moorman, Alvin Lucier, Allen Ginsberg and others... 
 
 
 
le film de Peter Moore pour la version new-yorkaise de 64 à l'étonnant casting



 
À l'extérieur de la salle de concert lors de la soirée d'ouverture, le 8 septembre 1964, plusieurs artistes new-yorkais se faisant appeler Action Against Cultural Imperialism, dont  George Maciunas, membre fondateur de Fluxus, l'artiste Henry Flynt, le poète, journaliste et activiste Marc Schleifer, le violoniste et cinéaste Tony Conrad, et l'acteur Alan Marlowe ont protesté contre Stockhausen l'accusant d'impérialiste culturel en raison de certaines remarques prétendument désobligeantes qu'il était censé avoir faites à Harvard en 1958 sur le jazz et la musique folk. 
Il est à noter également qu'en 1974, après avoir travaillé comme assistant de Stockhausen sur plusieurs pièces comme "Gruppen", Cornelius Cardew écrit un pamphlet intitulé "Stockhausen serves imperialism".
 

April 29, 1964: First AACI Demonstration
 
 
Outside the concert hall on the opening night, 8 September 1964, several New York artists calling themselves Action Against Cultural Imperialism, including Fluxus founder George Maciunas, concept art's creator Henry Flynt, poet, journalist, and activist Marc Schleifer, violinist and filmmaker Tony Conrad, and actor Alan Marlowe protested against Stockhausen as a "cultural imperialist" because of some reportedly disparaging remarks about jazz and folk music he was supposed to have made at Harvard in 1958. As well it should be noted that in 1974, after he had worked as Stockhausen's assistant on several pieces such as "Gruppen", Cornelius Cardew wrote a pamphlet entitled "Stockhausen serves imperialism".
 
a part of this post was originally published on "beyond the coda" in 2014

*I_0_I* 
 

16/05/2019

The tiger's mind


The Tiger’s Mind
A Cornelius Cardew's verbal notation score (1967)
with Nina Canal (USA), Nadia Lichtig (FR),
Michael Morley (NZ) & Sara Stephenson (NZ)

Sunday 7th june 2009 at CAC Brétigny sur Orge
curated by Dean Inkster, Jean-Jacques Palix, Lore Gablier & Pierre Bal-Blanc.

... a tribute to this "10 years ago" exhibition
which was shown in Bretigny sur Orge, Künstlerhauss Stuttgart and Culturgest Porto.



Nina Canal

Michael Morley & Sara Stephenson

Nadia Lichtig

 
all pictures by Steeve Beckouet 




"The tiger's mind" score : english version - french version



***
On the same day in the same event,
other Cornelius Cardew' scores
played by Rhys Chatham

and 

played by Marcus Schmickler, Michel Guillet, Samon Takahashi and Jean-Jacques Palix



original Treatise score's page 67


***


10/03/2019

Phil Dadson


The New-Zealander Phil Dadson born in 1946, studied fine arts in Auckland (NZ), majoring in sculpture and time-based arts. He had the chance to work in the UK 1968/69 with Cornelius Cardew's foundation group for a Scratch Orchestra.
Back in New Zealand in 1970, he founded a Scratch Orchestra in 1970 and later in 74 the avant-garde ensemble "From Scratch", which would use everything from old lampshades to customised PVC pipes to perform its intricate, rhythmic compositions.

https://vimeo.com/29907475

Since that period, he also activates lot of different projects in between collective performance, sound sculpture, experimental instrument building, video installation, teaching methods, and, of course, rythmical compositions.

Phil who received many major awards and commissions including a Fullbright travel award to the USA, and research, exhibition and performance grants, devotes his energy, full time, to his own work.


https://vimeo.com/277903491

some pieces
- SOUND TRACKS, and exhibited Tapping the Pulse; video and film works from 1971-2004
- sound-sculpture TENANTENNAE at the Connells Bay Sculpture Park on Waiheke Island
- has co-authored Slap Tubes and other Plosive Instruments- a DIY guide to building a variety of slap tube instruments,
- In 2011, Phil participated in the Kermadec Ocean project, curated by Gregory O'Brien, in support of a Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary. Phil joined a number of artists voyaging on the HMNZS Otago to Raoul Island and onto Tonga Tapu.


 


a few works
"Drumwheel" with two different versions from 1979 & 2018
"Urban devas" with Carol Brown and dancers - 2010
"Wobble Ova Oases" with Chris Connor in Heart' Heart performance series

and many many other works to look, listen at and follow on his Vimeo Channel
and don't miss From Scratch's piece called "Drum/Sing" -1984

An article to read in the next April issue of Wire around Dadson's heritage of the Scratch Orchestra with Cornelius Cardew in England in the late 60's.

****

11/05/2018

1968: Towards an Ethic of Improvisation


The famous trio AMM was formed in 1965 by Lou Gare, Eddie Prévost and Keith Rowe. They were involved in the idea of free music , without any direct implication in any style (jazz, avant-garde, rock, classical...etc)
As well Christopher Hobbs who played with the trio, Cornelius Cardew joined the trio in 1966 (*). And in 1968, Christian Wolff joined briefly the band. Later, John Tilbury became a new partner.

Christopher Hobbes, Cornelius Cardew, Christian Wolff
London, International Students Center, 1968

In 68, Cardew wrote the essay "Towards an Ethic of Improvisation" where he described the idea of the freely improvised modes to include all sonic possibilities and permissive to go further in the experiment.

Christopher Hobbs, Lou Gare, Keith Rowe, Cornelius Cardew
Germany 1971

”[…] At the words 'You are the music' something unexpected and mechanically real happens (purely by coincidence two teeth in the cogwheels meet up and mesh) the light changes and a new area of speculation opens based on the identity of the player and his music. 

This kind of thing happens in improvisation. Two things running concurrently in haphazard fashion suddenly synchronise autonomously and sling you forcibly into a new phase. Rather like in the 6-day cycle race when you sling your partner into the next lap with a forcible handclasp. Yes, improvisation is a sport too, and a spectator sport, where the subtlest interplay on the physical level can throw into high relief some of the mystery of being alive. […] ”  C.C.


https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=imgres&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjek7ra5NXaAhVF26QKHc92ALsQjhx6BAgAEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thewire.co.uk%2Fgalleries%2Fgallery_photos-from-the-amm-archive&psig=AOvVaw3YRNjhwOx6BmmFiN-s3dbV&ust=1524758103368158 
AMM. Langtry Road, 1968. pic Frazer Pearce
 

”[…] my own TREATISE which consists of 193 pages of graphic score with no systematic instructions as to the interpretation and only the barest hints (such as an empty pair of 5line systems below every page) to indicate that the interpretation is to be musical. […]  Ideally such music should be played by a collection of musical innocents; but in a culture where musical education is so widespread (at least among musicians) and getting more and more so, such innocents are extremely hard to find. Treatise attempts to locate such musical innocents wherever they survive, by posing a notation that does not specifically demand an ability to read music. On the other hand, the score suffers from the fact that it does demand a certain facility in reading graphics, ie a visual education. […] ”  C.C.



 

three pages of "Treatise"
with Michel Guillet, Jean-Jacques Palix, Marcus Schmickler and Samon Takahashi
for the exhibition "Cornelius Cardew and the freedom of listening"
CAC de Brétigny sur Orge - June 2009
shot by Benoit Lesieux


***

08/11/2017

For Cornelius


"For Cornelius" is a piece composed by Alvin Curran in 1981. It was Curran's first release of fully composed music performed by other people, his earlier LPs containing semi-improvised solo electroacoustic works performed by Curran himself.

It was written shortly after the death of Cornelius Cardew in 1981, the great british composer and political firebrand. Curran has some additional notes about the piece at his website: <<<>>>

"For Cornelius" is performed here by Ursula Oppens.

 ********************************************************

& about Cornelius Cardew these last months:

"Scratch Cottage and Nature Study Notes", with Carole Finer and Stefan Szczelkun, original "Scratch Orchestra" members, who did activate an intervention, curated by Pierre Bal-Blanc, as part of the last "Documenta 14" in the basement of the Athens conservatory.
It was an experimental framework for exploring the methodologies, technics, and spirit of the "Scratch Orchestra", originaly founded in July 1969 by Cornelius Cardew, growing out of a series of music composition classes held at Morley College London that were attended by avant-garde musicians as well as artists interested in exploring sound. 
This three-day public workshop involving more than 20 students proposed a journey through two important works of the orchestra: Nature Study Notes (1969) and Scratch Cottage (1971)



27/04/2016

From Scratch



Phil Dadson is born in 1946, studied fine arts in Auckland (NZ), majoring in sculpture and time-based arts. He had the chance to work in the UK 1968/69 with Cornelius Cardew's foundation group for a Scratch Orchestra.
Back in New Zealand in 1970, he founded a Scratch Orchestra in 1970 and later in 74 the avant-garde ensemble "From Scratch", which would use everything from old lampshades to customised PVC pipes to perform its intricate, rhythmic compositions.


Embracing an egalitarian ethic, focusing on co-operation and  integration, as a intermedia/sound, video, performance artist and instrument builder for the group, Phil Dadson activates lot of experimental sound projects that you can follow on Dadsonics.

A re-issue of the original LP "From Scratch" is now avalaible on EM Records.

http://emrecords.ocnk.net/product/128

In 1980, Phil Dadson, Geoff Chapple, Wayne Laird, Don McGlashan played "Gung Ho" ( means 'work together" and takes it's title from the gung ho workers' co-operative movement established in China in 1938 by New Zealander political activist Rewi Alley).
The one hour work was in 7 sections, with each module exploring consecutive number, triadic and tonal permutations.This video is an excerpt of the 8,9,10 modules.

08/05/2015

Christian Wolff

End of the 40s, the eminent composer Christian Wolff became a close associate of John Cage and his artistic circle, which included Earle Brown, David Tudor and Morton Feldman.And in the 60s, close of Cornelius Cardew, he continued to experiment the idea of composition, as well to practice the improvisation.


One of his main subject was the idea of indeterminate music. If the outcome is uncertain, how do we know whether we are hearing a particular piece? How different can a piece
sound and still be that piece? His piece "Burdocks" - for one or more groups of 5 or more players - written in the 70s for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company is emblematic of his area of thought.

musical pieces to listen to 

and an interview on Sound American website



13/06/2013

Experimental music



This 2005 ' BBC's movie, titled "Here's a piano I prepared earlier" , directed by John Warburton, was made with the searcher Jacob Blimsy.
It features John Tilbury, Stella Cardew, Hugh Davies, John White, Gavin Bryars, Sarah Walker, David Bedford & others.
It traces music's most daring innovators of the 60s as Cornelius Cardew, Stockhausen, Michael Nyman, John Cage, Terry Riley & the Portsmouth Sinfonia.



Here's a Piano I Prepared Earlier (3rd Dec 2005) TVRip XviD from phil scorzonera on Vimeo.

22/04/2013

Scratch music


    Cornelius Cardew & the Scratch Orchestra (circa 1970) - courtesy of Victor Schonfield' s archive

The Scratch Orchestra grew out of a series of public classes in experimental music that Cornelius Cardew and other composers had been running in London in the late 1960s. These began at the Anti-University on Rivington Street and then at Morley College, a workers education centre set up in the 19th Century. It was here that the original members of the Scratch Orchestra first came together Cardew, Michael Parson, Howard Skempton and people attending their classes. The foundation of the Orchestra was officially announced in June 1969 through the publication in the Musical Times of ‘'A Scratch Orchestra: draft constitution'’ written by Cardew. The constitution defines the Orchestra as "a large number of enthusiasts pooling their resources (not primarily material resources) and assembling for action (music-making, performance, edification)". Membership was open to anyone, regardless of musical ability. Many visual artists, such as Stefan Szczelkun, joined and they brought with them an interest and experience of art happenings and urban intervention works. Through these, and more conventional concerts, the Orchestra aimed to function in the public sphere presenting works developed by the group. The constitution outlined various forms of activity that the Orchestra would follow in creating these. One of the most important activities was the writing of ‘Scratch Music’. Each member of the Orchestra had a notebook, or "Scratchbook", in which they would write small works that
could be combined into larger ensemble pieces. The constitution emphasises that these Scratch Music pieces should be an active process of experimentation with different notational forms: verbal, graphic, musical, collage, etc... By 1972 a clearly defined process for the development of Scratch Music had emerged. Each piece was originally performed by its author, the scores were then exchanged and performed by other Orchestra members, providing a kind of ‘peer review’ critique of the pieces.
"Scratchers" were asked to write no more than one new piece per day, but encouraged to keep a ‘regular turnover’, so that there was a tight feedback loop between writing and performing.



Cornelius Cardew talking about the Scratch Orchestra

...here...

courtesy of Ubu Web




05/09/2012

Beurdoquer

BEURDOQUER: v.tr. bringueballer, s'entrechoquer
origine : Saintonge


from performance "The great Learning - paragraph 5" at CAC Bretigny sur Orge - 16th may 2009
in the exhibition "Cornelius Cardew and the freedom of the listening"
photo: Steve Beckouet



GLAGEOTER: v.tr. se dit du bruit produit lorsqu'on traverse une flaque...
origine :Marne

28/09/2011

Treatise

the september's issue of the french magazine "Revue et Corrigée" includes a long report , as well interviewes, around "Treatise", the famous score of Cornelius Cardew...