(Aug 13) NMA'82 Chicago - Day 1 live radio - part 3/3 Meredith Monk, Wayne Siegel
Radio broadcast hosted by Charles Amirkhanian and Joan La Barbara
(Meredith Monk photo from Wiki Commons courtesy of BAM, 2014)
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New Music America Chicago, Radio Program no. 1 Part 3 of 3 - live July 6, 1982
https://archive.org/details/NMA_1982_07_06/NMA_1982_07_06_C_ed.wav
Contents:
0:00 Charles Amirkhanian and Joan La Barbara intros
1:59 Peter Gena talks about the New Music Alliance meetings
♪4:41 Wayne Siegel Autumn Resonances
27:28 Amirkhanian and La Barbara – extro, intro interview
28:22 Charles Amirkhanian and Meredith Monk (on tape)
30:28 Amirkhanian and La Barbara re vocal works, Musical America, the radio broadcasts, show extro (“the piece is about twenty minutes long and we’ll be leaving the airwaves in about that amount of time”), tomorrow’s program, intro
36:01 Meredith Monk – introductions, Turtle Dreams
50:48 Amirkhanian and La Barbara give show extros over Monk
51:49 Meredith Monk Turtle Dreams to the end
53:09 end of recording
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0:00 ♪ (gd - Siegel I presume tuning up in the background)
Charles Amirkhanian: Composer Wayne Siegel was born in Los Angeles in 1953. He studied piano from the age of six, but most important in the way of early musical influences was the American folk music tradition, including the songs of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.
Important influences were also the American blues tradition and the Mothers of Invention and Captain Beefheart. From 1971 to ’75 he studied composition and philosophy at University of California Santa Barbara and he is here visiting from his home in Copenhagen, where he is about to perform on the stage of Navy Pier auditorium, his Autumn Resonance for piano and echos.
Wayne’s music is very much influenced by the music of composer Steve Reich and in some of his ensemble pieces – and he has many different ones that have been performed throughout Europe and recorded beautifully by European radio stations – ah, you will hear a – a sort of invented sensibility with ah, for instance a piece called Mosaics in Wood and Grass for instruments of ah, those, uh, materials, done in such a way that - that a terrific energy is brought forth.
And it’s exciting to have him here because ah, he and a couple of other composers who are Americans living in Europe, ah joined him at the 1982 festival, Frederic Rzewski and Alvin Curran who both live in Rome.
1:30
I’m Charles Amirkhanian. With me is Joan La Barbara. Joan, any comments about the evening so far?
Joan La Barbara: Well, it’s certainly, um, it’s varied in a – in a particular way. I mean we have heard a lot of pattern music and will contintue- continue to hear ah some repetitive types of music but each of the groups really has their own very particular style.
Charles Amirkhanian: Peter Gena is on stage for an announcement. Peter is co-director of the festival, with Alene Valkanas.
(from stage)
1:59
Peter Gena: If I could have your attention, ah for one moment. As you know, New Music America is ah, a new music alliance especially, and the New Music Alliance is a group of devoted ah composers presenting (some applause), presenters, um, new music aficionados and anyone who is interesting in promoting new music.
The New Music Alliance does meet in the mornings, ah, traditionally during this festival and it is open to anyone who is interested. It meets ah at the ah Chica-, ah the American Conservatory of Music which is 116 South Michigan, a block north of uh of the Orchestra Hall. Tomorrow we’re – ah, we have some guests talking about the recording industry and the publishing industry. On ah, Thursday, we have the ah the funders coming, ah, the – some – Adrian [Ganam] from the ah National Endowment and others.
And on Friday, we’ll be talking about general ah philosophy of the group, direction et cetera and election of officers and all that. It’s, ah, 10 a.m. each morning, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at the ah American Conservatory of Music fourth floor, [Cowens] Hall.
Ah, one other thing – as you know you have a choice of – of two post-concerts, concert events most nights. First of all the Robert Ashley Perfect Lives is ah being held in the S. S. Clipper each night at eleven thirty. To get on the boat, it’s a three – there’s a three dollar charge and there’s a cash bar. Also, um, you’ve seen the flyers, I’m sure, ah the Kapture group is sponsoring concerts through Thursday and then Saturday afternoon at Cross Currents, starting at midnight. Thank you.
(smattering of applause)
3:54
Charles Amirkhanian: So there’s a complete rundown of the activities adjacent to those ah concerts that are happening here at Navy Pier. For information on joining the New Music Alliance, anyone can join, five dollars, you just ah send a cheque to the Museum of Contemporary Art, 237 East Ontario Street (applause behind him) Chicago, 60611 and you’ll get the newsletter telling you all about this year’s and next year’s festival.
Joan La Barbara: And now here’s Wayne Siegel…
Charles Amirkhanian: With Autumn Resonances.
(Wayne Siegel photo from his current website: https://waynesiegel.dk/ )
♪ 04:41 Wayne Siegel Autumn Resonances
27:26 applause
27:38
Joan La Barbara: We’ve been listening to Autumn Resonance by the American composer and keyboard performer Wayne Siegel who lives in Denmark. The piece employed um digital delay lines coming through different speakers at um specific time intervals. Quite a beautiful piece.
Charles Amirkhanian: Lovely to hear that music and ah you’re listening to New Music America ’82, the first of six programs coming to you from Chicago. We pause now for station identification. From Chicago, these are the sounds of New Music America ’82.
(pause)
28:22
Charles Amirkhanian: Next, we’re going to hear the Meredith Monk ensemble from New York in a performance of her piece Turtle Dreams. Recently, Meredith performed the piece in San Francisco at the San Francisco Symphony’s “New and Unusual Music” series. And backstage at Davies Symphony Hall, I talked to her about this particular composition.
(on tape)
Charles Amirkhanian: You’re doing a piece ah called Turtle Dreams now, which is subtitled Walls. Ah, could you tell us a little bit about this? It’s described in the press release as “surrealistic cabaret”…
Meredith Monk: (chuckles)
Charles Amirkhanian: …what is that?
Meredith Monk: It’s sort-, it is a little bit like that. Um, well, it’s a pi-, I started working on the music, I mean I had the music, ah, really worked out pretty much before I started working with the other people on it. Um, it is a waltz and it’s – I – I did work on that piece um with the tracks in mind ‘cause I was working alone for a while.
It has two organs. One is – is like the basic track organ and one is, has the – is the melody organ, it plays melodies and also there are a lot of variations. And there are four singer-dancers – I mean we’re basically not dancing, we’re doing a kind of a step, a sort of a stripped down waltz step.
And then we’re – and the singing part of it is very complex. And I think that the reason why they would call it “surrealistic cabaret” is that is has um, it has a slightly German pre-, pre-war German kind of feeling, like a slightly Brechtian feeling to it. And it’s ver-, a very contemporary piece. I mean it’s almost a rock and roll piece. It’s not really rock and roll ‘cause it’s not a drum track and there’s no bass line or – and it’s not really rock and roll chords but it’s – it just has a very contemporary feeling.
It’s not as comforting as – as a piece like Dolmen Music. It’s much more acknowledging ah like a kind of urban environment and I’ve been wanting to do that for a while because I feel like I just was trying to escape from that for a while and I think it’s very honest in terms of living in New York and the kind of sound environment that we deal with all the time where sounds rub against each other or you’re hearing sirens all the time.
And it has a slightly pre-World War III quality to it, actually, this piece. It’s very contemporary, very – a little futuristic and you know like um, not so nice.
(end tape)
30:28
Joan La Barbara: [...]
Charles Amirkhanian: That was ah Meredith Monk talking in San Francisco about her piece which is going to be performed next here at New Music America. It’s called Turtle Dreams.
Joan La Barbara is, uh, a composer who’s used extended vocal techniques ah since her childhood and in many…
Joan La Barbara: (chuckles)
Charles Amirkhanian: …ways ah you understand the kinds of ah trials and tribulations that Meredith and her ensemble must go through. Ah, I remember asking her about how you keep your throat in gear when you perform such strenuous vocal exercises?
Joan La Barbara: Well, a day like today ah, where the ah, the rehearsals kept going later and later is ah, always a tremendously trying day. And one, one gets really exhausted, um, for instance they were supposed to start their rehearsal at about two o’clock in the afternoon and didn’t get started until four and didn’t finish up until about seven.
It’s, um, it’s a very difficult thing. Uh, you’ve got to keep the voice warmed up and do all sorts of exercises and stay relaxed at the same time. That’s, that’s really the biggest (music tuning up in the background) difficulty, so stay relaxed. (Chuckles) Once you start getting tense, everything seems to go.
Charles Amirkhanian: Joan, you’re a writer for Musical America...
Joan La Barbara: Um-hum.
Charles Amirkhanian: …and your column “New Music” appears monthly and it’s been a very valuable service to a lot of people who have followed your travels as a performer because when you travel to perform, you also pick up information on festivals and review them for us. And I think that’s been one of the most excitings that um, Musical America has been doing lately and I hope, ah, there are plans for that to continue.
Joan La Barbara: I hope so too. They’re a little concerned about ah, not covering enough of the events taking place in New York and ah, they may…
Charles Amirkhanian: Well, that’s a switch!
Joan La Barbara: (Laughs)
Charles Amirkhanian: We’d like to say hello to all you people listening over at W-key, KCR in New York on ah this evening, July 6th and also to you listeners ah who will be hearing this later in the year on WNYC. Thank you for joining us.
Joan La Barbara: As a matter of fact, ah, it might be a good time now to talk about um, if you have enjoyed – and I certainly hope you have enjoyed – listening to the New Music America broadcasts and will continue to enjoy it, it would be um, of interest and great benefit if you would let your station know.
We – we all the time try to convince ah stations across the country that we need to hear ne-, more new music on the airwaves, and ah, it would help convince them that there is really a wide and ever-widening audience for new music across the country. So if you would write or phone the station that you’re listening to this evening, and let them know that you have enjoyed hearing these new sounds, ah, tell them you’d be interested in hearing more new music and see if you can convince them to – to do more broadcasts of this type.
33:10
Charles Amirkhanian: Also a hello to all of you people out on the West Coast listening to us over KPFA and KFCF, that’s my home station Joan, gotta say hello to…
Joan La Barbara: Okay…
Charles Amirkhanian: …my friends out there.
Joan La Barbara: (chuckles)
Charles Amirkhanian: And especially ah, listener Carol Law out in El Cerrito. Well, ah, Meredith Monk, ah, is about to come out with her ensemble of ah, four performers who do a, a wonderful sort of a three-four kind of waltz step which swings from left to right. It’s a – an extremely hypnotic effect and usually this piece is done with um, Lavalier microphones attached to the lapels of the ah, dancers.
But tonight, the performers are going to use for the first time hand-held microphones, the sort of Frank Sinatra effect…
Joan La Barbara: (chuckles)
Charles Amirkhanian: …you know, you swing the cord from side to side and ah, unfortunately our performance is going to run right up ah to the end of our broadcast, because ah, the piece is about twenty minutes long and we’ll be leaving the airwaves in about that amount of time.
But we ah thank you once again for joining us and we hope ah you will stay tuned as tomorrow night, we’ll be broadcasting another series of exciting events from New Music America ’82…
(voice from stage)
…and ah they will include an appearance by the Cordier String Quartet of New York doing the Soundpiece No. 4 by John Jay Becker, the ah, first composer who is deceased and who has been honored on the New Music America series. Ah, most of the composers of course are ah younger and living and this year we also have John Cage who’s 70th birth anniversary we’re celebrating. He is the honored guest at this year’s festival.
Also on the program, music by Joseph Paul Taylor, a piece for solo cello which I find fascinating…
Joan La Barbara: Yes, he’s translating speech rhythms into ah music for the cello.
Charles Amirkhanian: So it sounds like a cello speaking ah…
Joan La Barbara: Umm…
Charles Amirkhanian: …in a way – or at least it’s based on, on ah speech patterns.
Joan La Barbara: We’ll also hear Larry Austin’s Tableaux Vivants and Ruth Anderson, Galvanic Skin Response Sender-, Sensors, ah are drawing sounds from a dancer and four musicians. And then we’ll hear Glenn Branca who is ah, making a lot of waves in New York right now.
Charles Amirkhanian: Well, and…
Joan La Barbara: …with his new wave. (Chuckles)
Charles Amirkhanian: (chuckles) And well he should. The – the piece is spectacular. I was in New York for the St. Mark’s – for the uh, premiere of the Symphony No. 2 of which we’ll hear an excerpt, ah, tomorrow on ah, our broadcast for those of you listening live. And on our second program for those of you listening by delay. Ah, thirty five ah homemade guitars and a man named Z’ev who swings a couple of garbage cans around his head, ah, attached by chains.
Meredith Monk. Turtle Dreams.
36:01 applause
Meredith Monk: I’d like to introduce to you the musicians tonight. Um, on left here is Andrea Goodman. Next to her is Robert Ian, and over here is Paul Langlan, and the two organists are Steve Lockwood and Nicki Perisa.
36:26 applause
(tuning)
Meredith Monk: You guys okay over there? (Chuckles) Some missing music by any chance? (Chuckles)
♪ 37:26 Meredith Monk Turtle Dreams
50:48 (cutting in with the performers in the background)
Charles Amirkhanian: Music by Meredith Monk. Turtle Dreams, closing this first program of six from New Music America ’82. This broadcast has been coming to you from Navy Pier auditorium in Chicago.
Joan La Barbara: New Music America ’82 is sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Special Events and the Chicago Tribune. The festival is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art in collaboration with the New Music Alliance. These broadcasts have been made possible in part from grants from the Illinois Office of Tourism, and the Nathan Manilow Foundation. I’m Joan La Barbara…
Charles Amirkhanian: And I’m Charles Amirkhanian. We’d like to thank the good people at WFMT Chicago for making all of this possible. Our engineers tonight here in the broadcast booth, Larry Rock and Jim Roth, assisted by Mary Gaffney. Mose Baum is broadcast coordinator and back at the studios, downtown in Chicago, thanks to Jim [Unrath], Nate Rosenstein and Curt Tyler. Good evening everybody.
♪ 51:49 Meredith Monk Turtle Dreams to end
[53:09 end]
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Meredith Monk’s with Ping Chong’s video version of Turtle Dreams from 1983:
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The full list of what happened on July 6, 1982 can be found at this post. Currently behind a pay gate, from October to December, all day-specific paygates of New Music America daily posts will be released from their fiscal obligations. Also to be noted is that I am offering free full status full year subscriptions to anyone who attended New Music America, mostly for participants and administrators but since there are lots of fans that are still able to remember stuff, I’d like to get in touch with them too as I prepare the hopes for my funded oral history project. Paygates on this Substack are automatic after thirty days unless I say nah. I can easily make exceptions. (musicofthelastcentury@gmail.com)
https://georgesdupuis.substack.com/p/july-6-1982-new-music-america-chicago