"Winded"
Works for Organ and Tape by, of, and for Kenneth Gaburo (1926 - 1993)
Warren Burt: Recitative / Tracing (On Guns and Cock Fighting)
Kenneth Gaburo: Antiphony X (Winded)
Philip Blackburn: P.P.S.
Gary Verkade, organ
Performed on the Casavant organ at Clapp Recital Hall, University of Iowa,
Iowa City in 1995 (Burt, Blackburn); and on the Rieger organ of the
Neanderkirche in Dusseldorf, Germany, on June 9, 1993 (Gaburo).
Innova Recordings 524
Total time 67:51
In this recording the keyboard takes a back seat to electronic sounds and
taped speech, creating an intimate atmosphere that sometimes feels as
though we are eavesdropping on a private conversation. It is a far cry
from the very public spectacle of the organ leading choirs in song.
The works here are, for the most part, quiet and personal, not at all what
you would expect from the mighty King of Instruments. After the excesses
of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when composers exploited the
organ's ability to create masses of sound, it's not a bad direction for
the instrument.
Of the three composers represented, only Gaburo is well known. He is
an American, born in New Jersey, studied at the Eastman School and the
University of Illinois, and taught at the University of California at San
Diego. Phonetics and linguistics are fundamental concepts in his later
works, which also use mathematics and the aleatoric methods of John Cage.
"Antiphony X" is the last of a series of works written between 1957 and
1991, all for tape and live instruments. In this case, the tape came first
and the organ score was derived from it by means of spectral analyses of
the taped sounds. The result is meant to convey a very wide range of
feelings, from playfulness to dread, in the composer's own description.
Gaburo's use of numerical, analytic, and random methods to assemble this
piece gives it a highly arbitrary surface texture. It may be difficult for
someone unfamiliar with this style and technique to hear anything beyond a
tonal landscape with a great variety of colors and gestures. Conventional
notions of melody, harmony, and rhythm are irrelevant here. Which is not
to say that there is not a lot of imagination and life in this music.
There is in fact a lot to enjoy, especially for someone who likes Ligeti or
Stockhausen. Behind the whooshes and squeaks is a consistent sense of
development and forward movement, and at times even urgency. The piece
develops slowly and covers a wide timbral range.
"Antiphony X" is bracketed by two pieces by younger composers who studied
with Kenneth Gaburo, written at the request of the performer and in memory
of their teacher.
The first, Warren Burt's "Recitative," is very quiet and calm. It uses
Gaburo's voice as its starting point. Burt took a recording Gaburo made of
his "Pentagony," a "linguistic composition," and processed it by computer
to create the tape part for the new piece. The organ part, too, is based
on this recording of Gaburo's voice.
The second piece, Philip Blackburn's "P.P.S.," is even more personal,
consisting primarily of a spoken communication from Gaburo to one of his
teachers. The organ doesn't even appear until halfway through the piece
and then contributes a little commentary. This piece consists of mostly
vocal sounds, and the language is, happily, Italian, one of the most
musical of tongues.
Neither of these homages comes close to the level of the teacher's work,
lacking the inner logic and deep structure of the "Antiphony." They are
effective mainly as tributes to the master's style and memory, but would
not stand well on their own. Taken together, the three pieces form a
coherent unit and a valuable example of the avant-garde in composition
for the organ.
Paul Geffen
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Boston, Massachusetts
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