kant, ludwig, glass

Hey all,

This is one of a few pieces I wrote last year when I took a large hiatus
from the lists.

http://www.akjmusic.com/audio/kant.mp3 [8'34"]

It's 19-equal, and perhaps the most salient feature is a kind of
tongue-in-cheek humor juxtaposed against an over-riding earnestness of tone
due to the use of *only* minor triads (and some diminished 7ths and minor
7ths as well)

The title refers to the self-consciously Germanic/philosophic mood I aim to
invoke--also the obsession with extending a kind of developmental form that
in spirit descends from the obsessive motivic thinking that good ol'
Beethoven or Sibelius engaged in, while also acknowledging a section that is
a clear nod (half-mockingly, half-respectfully) to Phillip Glass. The 'Glass
sections' tend to push things forward with increased surface activity and
terraced modulations to contrast with the 'lumbering bear' like gestures
that dominate the other thematic sections. In a way, I'm trying to see how
much interest I can pull out of rather dopey themes.

The form is a thrice-repeated series of themes which develop the argument,
and are subtly varied and combined in a form of abstract ballet I had in my
head that guided my composing--there are elisions, humorous curve-balls of
expectation, questioning silences, and transpositions designed to raise the
intensity and forward the rather 'bear or turtle'-like plodding
momentum...these three sections are followed by a coda that obsesses a
little bit on the Glass motive and bring the piece to its restless anxious
conclusion.

The instrumentation: all Csound. Pluck instrument, my own kalimba-ish FM
instrument, a FFT resynthesized plastic cup that I sampled, and a slightly
hacked version of Steven Yi's legato synth lead instrument.

One of my longer and more fully formally fleshed out pieces. It was
premiered at the first dark concert, Jan 30th, 2010.

--
Aaron Krister Johnson
http://www.akjmusic.com
http://www.untwelve.org

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey, this is hilariously juvenile! I don't know if you meant it to be
so, though. :)

Oz.

--

✩ ✩ ✩
www.ozanyarman.com

Aaron Krister Johnson wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> This is one of a few pieces I wrote last year when I took a large hiatus
> from the lists.
>
> http://www.akjmusic.com/audio/kant.mp3 [8'34"]
>
> It's 19-equal, and perhaps the most salient feature is a kind of
> tongue-in-cheek humor juxtaposed against an over-riding earnestness of tone
> due to the use of *only* minor triads (and some diminished 7ths and minor
> 7ths as well)
>
> The title refers to the self-consciously Germanic/philosophic mood I aim to
> invoke--also the obsession with extending a kind of developmental form that
> in spirit descends from the obsessive motivic thinking that good ol'
> Beethoven or Sibelius engaged in, while also acknowledging a section that is
> a clear nod (half-mockingly, half-respectfully) to Phillip Glass. The 'Glass
> sections' tend to push things forward with increased surface activity and
> terraced modulations to contrast with the 'lumbering bear' like gestures
> that dominate the other thematic sections. In a way, I'm trying to see how
> much interest I can pull out of rather dopey themes.
>
> The form is a thrice-repeated series of themes which develop the argument,
> and are subtly varied and combined in a form of abstract ballet I had in my
> head that guided my composing--there are elisions, humorous curve-balls of
> expectation, questioning silences, and transpositions designed to raise the
> intensity and forward the rather 'bear or turtle'-like plodding
> momentum...these three sections are followed by a coda that obsesses a
> little bit on the Glass motive and bring the piece to its restless anxious
> conclusion.
>
> The instrumentation: all Csound. Pluck instrument, my own kalimba-ish FM
> instrument, a FFT resynthesized plastic cup that I sampled, and a slightly
> hacked version of Steven Yi's legato synth lead instrument.
>
> One of my longer and more fully formally fleshed out pieces. It was
> premiered at the first dark concert, Jan 30th, 2010.
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Ozan Yarman <ozanyarman@...> wrote:
>
> Hey, this is hilariously juvenile! I don't know if you meant it to be
> so, though. :)
>
> Oz.
>

Yes, pretty much, see my comment on 'dopey themes' below in my notes, but that's the surface of things. For me, it's a curious combinations of moods--comical and earnest. You might not 'get' the piece if you are looking for a very 'textbook/academy' way of writing a neo-classical piece. The piece has grown on me in the past year. It might take a few listens for some, and some may never like it.

AKJ

> --
>
> ✩ ✩ ✩
> www.ozanyarman.com
>
>
> Aaron Krister Johnson wrote:
> > Hey all,
> >
> > This is one of a few pieces I wrote last year when I took a large hiatus
> > from the lists.
> >
> > http://www.akjmusic.com/audio/kant.mp3 [8'34"]
> >
> > It's 19-equal, and perhaps the most salient feature is a kind of
> > tongue-in-cheek humor juxtaposed against an over-riding earnestness of tone
> > due to the use of *only* minor triads (and some diminished 7ths and minor
> > 7ths as well)
> >
> > The title refers to the self-consciously Germanic/philosophic mood I aim to
> > invoke--also the obsession with extending a kind of developmental form that
> > in spirit descends from the obsessive motivic thinking that good ol'
> > Beethoven or Sibelius engaged in, while also acknowledging a section that is
> > a clear nod (half-mockingly, half-respectfully) to Phillip Glass. The 'Glass
> > sections' tend to push things forward with increased surface activity and
> > terraced modulations to contrast with the 'lumbering bear' like gestures
> > that dominate the other thematic sections. In a way, I'm trying to see how
> > much interest I can pull out of rather dopey themes.
> >
> > The form is a thrice-repeated series of themes which develop the argument,
> > and are subtly varied and combined in a form of abstract ballet I had in my
> > head that guided my composing--there are elisions, humorous curve-balls of
> > expectation, questioning silences, and transpositions designed to raise the
> > intensity and forward the rather 'bear or turtle'-like plodding
> > momentum...these three sections are followed by a coda that obsesses a
> > little bit on the Glass motive and bring the piece to its restless anxious
> > conclusion.
> >
> > The instrumentation: all Csound. Pluck instrument, my own kalimba-ish FM
> > instrument, a FFT resynthesized plastic cup that I sampled, and a slightly
> > hacked version of Steven Yi's legato synth lead instrument.
> >
> > One of my longer and more fully formally fleshed out pieces. It was
> > premiered at the first dark concert, Jan 30th, 2010.
> >
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "akjmicro" <aaron@...> wrote:
> The piece has grown on me in the past year. It might take a few listens for some, and some may never like it.

I found it annoying, but in an interesting way; I'll need to listen again.

Gene wrote:

>>The piece has grown on me in the past year. It might take a few
>>listens for some, and some may never like it.
>
>I found it annoying, but in an interesting way; I'll need to listen again.

Unlike marijuana, I liked it the first time!

-Carl

I found it to be strangely sparse - yet rich. Not quite in a style I enjoy
but very colorful nonetheless.

Chris

On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 1:27 AM, Aaron Krister Johnson <aaron@...>wrote:

>
>
> Hey all,
>
> This is one of a few pieces I wrote last year when I took a large hiatus
> from the lists.
>
> http://www.akjmusic.com/audio/kant.mp3 [8'34"]
>
> It's 19-equal, and perhaps the most salient feature is a kind of
> tongue-in-cheek humor juxtaposed against an over-riding earnestness of tone
> due to the use of *only* minor triads (and some diminished 7ths and minor
> 7ths as well)
>
> The title refers to the self-consciously Germanic/philosophic mood I aim to
> invoke--also the obsession with extending a kind of developmental form that
> in spirit descends from the obsessive motivic thinking that good ol'
> Beethoven or Sibelius engaged in, while also acknowledging a section that
> is
> a clear nod (half-mockingly, half-respectfully) to Phillip Glass. The
> 'Glass
> sections' tend to push things forward with increased surface activity and
> terraced modulations to contrast with the 'lumbering bear' like gestures
> that dominate the other thematic sections. In a way, I'm trying to see how
> much interest I can pull out of rather dopey themes.
>
> The form is a thrice-repeated series of themes which develop the argument,
> and are subtly varied and combined in a form of abstract ballet I had in my
> head that guided my composing--there are elisions, humorous curve-balls of
> expectation, questioning silences, and transpositions designed to raise the
> intensity and forward the rather 'bear or turtle'-like plodding
> momentum...these three sections are followed by a coda that obsesses a
> little bit on the Glass motive and bring the piece to its restless anxious
> conclusion.
>
> The instrumentation: all Csound. Pluck instrument, my own kalimba-ish FM
> instrument, a FFT resynthesized plastic cup that I sampled, and a slightly
> hacked version of Steven Yi's legato synth lead instrument.
>
> One of my longer and more fully formally fleshed out pieces. It was
> premiered at the first dark concert, Jan 30th, 2010.
>
> --
> Aaron Krister Johnson
> http://www.akjmusic.com
> http://www.untwelve.org
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks for the listens and comments, all.

Chris--it is a sparse piece. Pretty unadorned in any way. I set out to do
something bare-bones in this way. But I'm glad you found something to enjoy
in it.

Carl--may it grow on you even more as you listen 'under the influence'.

Gene--the themes do have a "nah-nah-nah" quality. What's more important here
is development and arc than the themes in of themselves. I wasn't crazy
about the piece as I wrote it, but I pushed through. Now I'm glad I did; it
has since grown on me a lot. It has a unique place in my output, I think. I
can't be totally objective, only time will tell.

AKJ

On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 2:01 PM, Chris Vaisvil <chrisvaisvil@...>wrote:

> I found it to be strangely sparse - yet rich. Not quite in a style I enjoy
> but very colorful nonetheless.
>
> Chris
>
> On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 1:27 AM, Aaron Krister Johnson <aaron@...
> >wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Hey all,
> >
> > This is one of a few pieces I wrote last year when I took a large hiatus
> > from the lists.
> >
> > http://www.akjmusic.com/audio/kant.mp3 [8'34"]
> >
> > It's 19-equal, and perhaps the most salient feature is a kind of
> > tongue-in-cheek humor juxtaposed against an over-riding earnestness of
> tone
> > due to the use of *only* minor triads (and some diminished 7ths and minor
> > 7ths as well)
> >
> > The title refers to the self-consciously Germanic/philosophic mood I aim
> to
> > invoke--also the obsession with extending a kind of developmental form
> that
> > in spirit descends from the obsessive motivic thinking that good ol'
> > Beethoven or Sibelius engaged in, while also acknowledging a section that
> > is
> > a clear nod (half-mockingly, half-respectfully) to Phillip Glass. The
> > 'Glass
> > sections' tend to push things forward with increased surface activity and
> > terraced modulations to contrast with the 'lumbering bear' like gestures
> > that dominate the other thematic sections. In a way, I'm trying to see
> how
> > much interest I can pull out of rather dopey themes.
> >
> > The form is a thrice-repeated series of themes which develop the
> argument,
> > and are subtly varied and combined in a form of abstract ballet I had in
> my
> > head that guided my composing--there are elisions, humorous curve-balls
> of
> > expectation, questioning silences, and transpositions designed to raise
> the
> > intensity and forward the rather 'bear or turtle'-like plodding
> > momentum...these three sections are followed by a coda that obsesses a
> > little bit on the Glass motive and bring the piece to its restless
> anxious
> > conclusion.
> >
> > The instrumentation: all Csound. Pluck instrument, my own kalimba-ish FM
> > instrument, a FFT resynthesized plastic cup that I sampled, and a
> slightly
> > hacked version of Steven Yi's legato synth lead instrument.
> >
> > One of my longer and more fully formally fleshed out pieces. It was
> > premiered at the first dark concert, Jan 30th, 2010.
> >
> > --
> > Aaron Krister Johnson
> > http://www.akjmusic.com
> > http://www.untwelve.org
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

--
Aaron Krister Johnson
http://www.akjmusic.com
http://www.untwelve.org

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]