|
Composer and pianist Denman Maroney (1949) has developed a technique that
involves "increasing" the sound of the piano (or, better, "hyperpiano")
by touching its chords with objects (one hand plays the keyboard and the other
one handles the objects).
His first major experience was in the
Tambastics (january 1992 - Music & Arts, 1992), with flutist Robert Dick, bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Gerry Hemingway.
But he revealed his vision on
Hyperpiano (Mon$ey Music, 1998), three solo piano sonatas: Flux Time, Artemisia and On the Contrary.
Fire Song (may 1999 - Erstwhile, 1999) with
Earl Howard (saxophone and synthesizer),
contains:
Maroney's Pulse Field , a duet for hyperpiano and alto saxophone,
Maroney's solo hyperpiano piece UnCaged Bacchanal,
Howard's Fire Song, a duet for hyperpiano and synthesizer,
and Howard's solo alto saxophone piece Orchid.
A series of collaborations further refined his concept:
Billabong (july 1999 - Potlatch, 2000), duets
between Maroney (on hyperpiano) and German guitarist Hans Tammen;
Billabong (Potlatch P100) were duets
Marinade (Tzadik, 2000) with Mark Dresser, violinist Mary Rowell, flutist Matthias Ziegler;
Duologues (november 2000 - Victo, 2001) with Dresser;
Aquifer (march 2001 - Cryptogrammophone, 2001) with Dresser and Ziegler;
Tools of the Trade (june 2001 - CIMP, 2002) with reed player Ned Rothenberg;
etc.
Fluxations (april 2001 - New World, 2003), recorded in 2001, is a six-part chamber work performed by Dave Ballou (trumpet), Kevin Norton (drums), Ned Rothenberg (bass clarinet), Kevin Norton (vibraphone), Mark Dresser (double bass), Denman Maroney (piano), Ned Rothenberg (alto saxophone) and Maroney on hyperpiano.
The key compositional ingredient is the concept of "pulse field", inherited
from the likes of Charles Ives and Conlon Nancarrow: a pulse field is
a polyrhythmic sequence denoted as a rhythmic relationship between instruments
(e.g., 3:4:5). This might be the most ambitious implementation of the concept
since it first emerged in the 20th century. Besides the obvious rhythmic effect
(the instruments both participate in the overall counterpoint and play by
themselves, at their own pace), one can perceive a restrained, self-aware demeanor due to the improvisational skills demanded of the performers, who must
exhibit the flawlessness of a mathematicians proving a theorem.
Part 2 is where the mechanism is set in motion in earnest: after the
quintet elaborates over a gentle "theme", the hyperpiano injects some life
into it and turns it into art, and, by the end of the section, one comes
to perceive the loose fanfare of clarinet and trumpet as soulful.
The hyperpiano opens Part 3 in an ecstatic/geometric fashion
reminiscent of Bach's Art of the Fugue but the ensemble soon decomposes
the system into a series of decoupled melancholy gestures.
The hyperpiano keeps trying to bring living tone-rich patterns into
the lifeless movements of the ensemble, but the ensemble's disconnected
clockwork rejects any superposition of order.
The dialogue between robotic and sentimental elements gets more intense (and
loud) in Part 4. All the voices of the ensemble are suddenly invigorated
and outspoken.
In Part 5 this frenzy briefly evokes Steve Reich-ian repetition,
although at every point in time an instrument is breaking the uniform
pattern with longer and melodic phrases.
All in all, the six-part piece stands as a monument of new composition/improvisation fusion.
|
(Translation by/ Tradotto da xxx) Se sei interessato a tradurre questo testo, contattami
|
