Microtonality at the Edinburgh Festival 2003

Hi Folks

one of my first postings to this list was all about the Edinburgh
International Festival and the lack of alternative (to 12 tet) music. I also
naively thought that I could organise some sort of microfest within the
Festival till I found out the extortionate costs of attempting such a folly.

Let's see if things are better this year.

I'll disregard the Fringe Festival which amongst the smush and bad stand-up
comics often presents a fair smattering of music from around the world, the
occasional stray microtonalist minstrel and very occasionally some
enlightened early music specialists who know their historical temperaments.

We're still looking at a programme which is supposed to excite us by
offering pictures of virtuosi and of course Maestri looking mostly very glum
and arrogant in direct proportion to their perceived importance. Quotes such
as "her dark, syrupy mezzo...." or "she tore through the music's virtuoso
workout" (an aerobics session?)... or how about this - " watching him
conduct seemed almost like spying on a visual artist; his gestures are
reminiscent of a painter applying oils and of a sculptor moulding materials.
He has also no shred of conventional technique (sic?!). Instead he acts as
though music were a physical substance....etc." Hold me back. (BTW you can
blame the LA times for that one.)

Well despite all this tosh designed to get bums on seats there is a very
bold initiative called 'Connecting Cultures' presenting the music of China,
Korea, India and Japan and launched with an all day interactive
lecture/session.

The set of concerts includes Li Xiangting playing Qin, the Nieuw Ensemble
presenting the work of contemporary Chinese and Korean composers, Korean
folk instrumental music, Shiv Kumar Sharma playing Santoor and Japanese
song, shamisen and koto. I chose an evening of "Sanjo" which means
"scattered folk melodies" at the core of Korean folk instrumental music. "A
virtuoso instrument is accompanied by an hourglass drum called a Janggo. The
musical characteristics of Sanjo include subtle melodic decoration and a
fantastic variation of rhythmic patterns." The bowed kotos look wonderful
and I hope to get a chance to speak to the performers about instrument
design, tuning, composition and instrumental training and technique.

Added to this there are five nights of "Pansori" a traditional Korean
artform combining storytelling and music. I would expect something corporeal
in the Partchian sense of the word. The action is driven by two master
percusssionists (wearing the distinctive costumes and strange hats) and a
singer/actor. Performances range from 2 - 5 1/2 hours.

Slightly off topic the complete Beethoven String Quartets are being
performed over three days. I couldn't resist and got in for the 'Grosse
Fuge' and op. 130. Might ask what the Quartet thinks of tuning if i can meet
them.

I also have a ticket for the "New Music Scotland" evening. This is "an
evening of informal music and conversation with established and emerging
Scottish composers". As I'm emerging I thought I'd go along and make an
exhibition of myself by asking when some of them were going to stop behaving
like 19th century clones and have they any intention of actually trying
something "new" like a new tuning for example oh and why do you all sound
like somebody else - perhaps you should take time out to think about what
you do and why, etc. You get the drift. Should be my finest hour.....

Oh and finally - I got tickets for some contemporary Dance and a play called
San Diego by prominent Scottish playwright David Greig. Is that the one
about a gang of sad rednecks in a border town who still listen to and play
music in 12 tet......? : - ) (Sorry Jon - couldn't resist it.)

I'll report back on the microtonal stuff later.

Sincerely
a.m.

Hi, all! :-)

I'd like to know lots more about historical temperaments that were used to play early music, Alison Monteith.

Thanks,

Steve Langford
(new to this list)

Ali,

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Alison Monteith <alison.monteith3@w...> wrote:
> Added to this there are five nights of "Pansori"

I'll second KG's comment - Pansori is one of the truly extraordinary art forms on the planet. So lucky for you to get a chance to experience it!

> Is that the one about a gang of sad rednecks in a border town who
> still listen to and play music in 12 tet......? : - )
> (Sorry Jon - couldn't resist it.)

Well, to be fair, we require concert-goers to be missing no more than 4 of their front teeth to get into the venue...

Cheers,
Jon

Hey, youre right about that Pansoori stuff!:

http://madang.ajou.ac.kr/~sjmoon/pansori.htm

ancient Korean rap.

Dante

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jon Szanto [mailto:JSZANTO@ADNC.COM]
> Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2003 11:33 AM
> To: tuning@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [tuning] Re: Microtonality at the Edinburgh Festival 2003
>
>
> Ali,
>
> --- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Alison Monteith
> <alison.monteith3@w...> wrote:
> > Added to this there are five nights of "Pansori"
>
> I'll second KG's comment - Pansori is one of the truly
> extraordinary art forms on the planet. So lucky for you to get a
> chance to experience it!
>
> > Is that the one about a gang of sad rednecks in a border town who
> > still listen to and play music in 12 tet......? : - )
> > (Sorry Jon - couldn't resist it.)
>
> Well, to be fair, we require concert-goers to be missing no more
> than 4 of their front teeth to get into the venue...
>
> Cheers,
> Jon
>
>
>
> You do not need web access to participate. You may subscribe through
> email. Send an empty email to one of these addresses:
> tuning-subscribe@yahoogroups.com - join the tuning group.
> tuning-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com - unsubscribe from the tuning group.
> tuning-nomail@yahoogroups.com - put your email message delivery
> on hold for the tuning group.
> tuning-digest@yahoogroups.com - change your subscription to
> daily digest mode.
> tuning-normal@yahoogroups.com - change your subscription to
> individual emails.
> tuning-help@yahoogroups.com - receive general help information.
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

on 14/6/03 2:51 pm, Steve Langford at s@TheRiver.com wrote:

>
>
> Hi, all! :-)
>
> I'd like to know lots more about historical temperaments that were
> used to play early music, Alison Monteith.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve Langford
> (new to this list)

I'm not the best person to ask about this, my field being composition and
performance, bot hopefully informed as much as possible.

The best approach would be to try to narrow down your questions to specifics
and post to the list. Then some of the excellent theorists will keep you
occupied. I've found everyone to be of tremendous help in my musical
development and understanding of historical temperaments.

I'd also suggest looking back through the archives for any postings by Margo
Schulter. These are usually mini-essays and I have about 100 of these saved
for present and future reference.

Good luck and welcome to the tuning group.

Kind Regards
a.m.

on 14/6/03 2:51 pm, Steve Langford at s@TheRiver.com wrote:

>
>
> Hi, all! :-)
>
> I'd like to know lots more about historical temperaments that were
> used to play early music, Alison Monteith.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve Langford
> (new to this list)

I'm not the best person to ask about this, my field being composition and
performance, bot hopefully informed as much as possible.

The best approach would be to try to narrow down your questions to specifics
and post to the list. Then some of the excellent theorists will keep you
occupied. I've found everyone to be of tremendous help in my musical
development and understanding of historical temperaments.

I'd also suggest looking back through the archives for any postings by Margo
Schulter. These are usually mini-essays and I have about 100 of these saved
for present and future reference.

Good luck and welcome to the tuning group.

Kind Regards
a.m.