Today a few thoughtful pieces for communing with nature and the universe. Some are very lovely and some are abstract, but they all express our connection with the cosmos in different ways. The modern ones were chosen for their strangely beautiful effects, all produced by purely acoustic means (real instruments, not electronics) and actual humans, every single note. Far more complex and beautiful than anything AI has done — this is art for humanity.
YouTube links highlighted above each piece in case videos don’t load for you in Kos. Lots of data in some of these vids.
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Hi, I’m Itzl!
As you can see by Itzl's concerned look, this group (Itzl Alert Network, or IAN) is for us to check in at to let people know we are alive, doing OK, and not affected by such things as heat, blizzards, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages, or other things that could keep us off DKos. If you're not here, or anywhere else on DKos, and there are adverse conditions in your area (floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, etc.), we are going to check up on you. If you are going to be away from your computer for a day or a week, let us know here. We care! Send us a message if you want to publish a diary or have a cause to share. Head site admins FLSNMom at www.dailykos.com/… or Art Ah Zen at www.dailykos.com/…
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Modeste Moussorgsky, Il Vecchio Castello — The Old Castle (from Pictures at an Exhibition):
Besides recalling an old castle, this lovely woodwind music always seemed to us to summon its surroundings — riparian woods, waterfowl, sunset over the moat with perhaps a few stars peeping out… skillfully arranged for winds and strings by Ravel, who brilliantly orchestrated Moussorgsky’s entire Pictures at an Exhibition from the original piano score. Who knew even the Sax could be so quietly dignified!
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Samuel Barber, Fugue from his grand Piano Sonata, a stunning tour de force of keyboard technique:
Although somewhat abstract and Bartokian, this wonderful movement seems to us to evoke stars swirling in the Milky Way, with its circling contrapuntal figures and advanced Jazzy harmonies. Very lovely and subtle polyphony in 4 separate parts on the piano, not easy to do! Has quiet, sparkling moments of pure stardust. Brilliantly performed here by the acclaimed Yeontaek Oh from S. Korea.
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Valerie Coleman, Concerto for Wind Quintet - Imani Winds (4-piece woodwinds + French Horn)
This is just gorgeous 5-part counterpoint in contemporary Jazz style, with vigorous rhythmic counterpoint in the riff section (is it in 12 or 6 or does it switch Compound Meters?) Quite sophisticated polyphony. It makes us think of the Music of the Spheres and the complex dances of the five main Families of Asteroids as they weave in between Earth, Mars and Jupiter in Mean-Motion Resonance.
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György Ligeti — Continuum for harpsichord. This is a fine, thoughtful piece of contemporary music using dense cluster chords, but the harmony is not random — 15th, 17th, 19th and 21st chords, using most or all the notes of the chromatic scale. There is a sense of progression between the chords and even a V-I at one point in the middle! Some M7th chords sound nicely Jazzy then modulate back to 9ths, 11ths, 13ths and clusters. The figurations evoke the spiraling of galaxies; It ends with the complex clusters narrowing to a single point, an almost inhumanly fast tremolo (all done by human hands, no electronics or AI!):
Strangely pleasing to hear such spacey music on an antique instrument. Pushing the double-manual harpsichord or cembalo to its technical limits — an amazingly skilled performance here by John McKean. It’s short, listen and watch all the way to the ending which is mind-blowing!
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Beethoven, Symphony No. 7, Movement II, Allegretto:
This pretty graphical score also makes us think of stars or the night sky. One of Beethoven’s lovelier movements. The oranges and reds are high and low strings; blues and greens woodwinds; yellow brass, and white percussion. After an opening chord in the winds, the lower strings present a solemn main theme (reds) which is joined by a beautiful counter-theme (orange); then they switch places. The winds and brass augment a series of lovely variations, proceeding to a transcendent fugue and then a quiet, reflective finale.
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Now for something a bit more abstract. Recall the soundtracks of the 2001/2010 movies; these pieces were actually written independently by Jewish-Romanian composer György Ligeti, and Kubrick liked the sound effects: Completely acoustic, Classically written-out micropolyphony, which conjures up complex electronic sounds with purely acoustic means. Lux Aeterna has 16 independent parts, and Atmospheres has 76! The meticulous composition for this level of textural detail is incredible, no-one else has done this.
György Ligeti, Lux Aeterna for 16-part mixed choir. Unearthly harmonies, very quiet and mystical:
There are functional chord clusters here, but very abstract. Imagine yourself listening to an alien choir projected by The Monolith. A weirdly calming kaleidoscope of complex harmonies. Requires perfect pitch in all the parts to sing — each performer must have the skill of a soloist, otherwise the chords turn to mush. No instruments or electronics here, these are ALL a cappella human voices — think of the pitch control to get this right! Here it is with Choral Score if you want to see the notes.
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György Ligeti, Atmospheres, full score — starts with 40 split parts in the strings and winds alone, expands gradually to 76 individual parts in independent counterpoint! Abstract but eerily evocative of worlds beyond...
This is the orchestral music used in 2001 as Commander Bowman, the only survivor on Discovery, approaches Jupiter, and then is transported by The Monolith to elsewhere and elsewhen.
View on YouTube (click on bottom, or link above) to better see the score. An extraordinarily difficult piece of music to conduct, or perform, look at all the meticulous parts of micropolyphony. Yes, every individual instrument of each Section has different music — amazing counterpoint! The effect is of subtle electronic sounds, but it is ALL acoustic music played by people on orchestral instruments.
In the climactic middle section (roughly 4:00 to 6:00), one can visualize Bowman falling through alien atmospheres into strange new worlds: “My God, it’s full of stars!”
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