Program 649: Evolving Music
KALW Broadcast Date: April 23, 2021 | Host: Mark Abramson
This program explores some quiet, contemplative, narrative work by composers Morton Feldman and Tyshawn Sorey. The comparative pairing seemed like a good idea after I read an article about Sorey’s music that cited Feldman as a touch-point. So I thought I’d explore that connection by alternating tracks by each composer to see how they blended. It turns out that the segues are seamless, even though each composer has their own voice. Morton Feldman is one of the 20th Century’s most influential composers, a pioneer of indeterminate music and notational innovations. Tyshawn Sorey is a virtuosic drummer and a composer whose prolific work ranges from classical to jazz to experimental. This is quiet, slowly evolving music for the most part, and I wanted to allow listeners some space to experience it, so I kept my vocal interludes short. I hope you enjoy it enough to continue to explore the work of these two composers on your own time. There are plenty of links in the playlist below if you want to follow up.
Program Audio
30-Second Spot
Track Info & Links
Title: Sympathy
Composers: Tyshawn Sorey
Performers: Tyshawn Sorey, drums and piano; Ben Gerstein, trombone; Cory Smythe, piano and Wurlitzer; Thomas Morgan, bass
Recording Title: That/Not (2007)
Record Label: Firehouse 12 Records
Catalog Number: FH12-04-02-005
Title: Three Clarinets, Cello and Piano (1971)
Composers: Morton Feldman
Performers: Carol Robinson, clarinet; Pierre Dutrieu, clarinet; Oliver Voice, clarinet; Elena Andreyev, cello; Vincent Leterme, piano
Recording Title: Morton Feldman – Late Works With Clarinet (2003)
Record Label: Mode Records
Catalog Number: mode 119
Title: Thirty-Six
Composers: Tyshawn Sorey
Performers: Tyshawn Sorey, drums; Loren Stillman, alto saxophone; Todd Neufeld, electric guitar; John Escreet, Fender Rhodes; Chris Tordini, bass
Recording Title: Oblique-1 (2011)
Record Label: Pi Recordings
Catalog Number: PI 40
Title: The Possibility of a New Work for Electric Guitar (1966)
Composer: Morton Feldman
Performers: Seth Josel, electric guitar
Recording Title: The Possibility of a New Work for Electric Guitar (1966)
Record Label: Mode Records
Catalog Number: mode 280
Title: Bass Clarinet and Percussion (1981)
Composers: Morton Feldman
Performers: Carol Robinson, clarinet; Pierre Dutrieu, clarinet; Oliver Voice, clarinet; Elena Andreyev, cello; Vincent Leterme, piano
Recording Title: Morton Feldman – Late Works With Clarinet (2003)
Record Label: Mode Records
Catalog Number: mode 119
Title: Reverie
Composers: Tyshawn Sorey
Performers: Tyshawn Sorey, drums; Cory Smythe, piano; Chern Hwei Fung, violin; Kyle Armbrust, viola; Rubin Kodheli, violoncello, Chris Tordini, contrabass
Recording Title: The Inner Spectrum of Variables (2016)
Record Label: Pi Recordings
Catalog Number: PI 65
Title: Algid November
Composers: Tyshawn Sorey
Performers: Tyshawn Sorey, drums, percussion; Cory Smythe, piano, toy piano, electronics; Chris Tordini, bass
Recording Title: Versimilitude (2017)
Record Label: Pi Recordings
Catalog Number: PI 70
Titles: Rothko Chapel (1971)
Composers: Morton Feldman
Performers: UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus, Philip Brett director; David Abel, viola; Karen Rosenak, celeste; William Winant, percussion
Recording Title: Morton Feldman – Rothko Chapel, Why Patterns? (1991)
Record Label: New Albion Records
Catalogue Number: NA039CD
