If an artists’ work is a composite of influences from others, Beth Anderson’s Namely inverts that notion, creating a work from the names themselves of her influencers. The album consists of 65 short pieces, each using the name of one of Anderson’s varied influences as source material. Anderson applies a generative procedure to each name to create a text-sound poem that is performed as a vocal piece by the composer.

The collection of names reveals the intermedia nature of Anderson’s work — from the artist’s mother, to composer Julius Eastman, to Fluxus “founder” George Maciunas, to Other Minds’ very own Charles Amirkhanian. Each piece functions not only as a musical piece, but a work of concrete poetry, as author Jeremy Bushnell explains in his detailed liner notes essay.

In twisting up these familiar names, Anderson utters strange combinations of familiar words and creates new ones. By weaving a web of her own influences, Anderson is charting a map from which to navigate the rest of Anderson’s deep catalog, a necessary tool for understanding an artist whose work spans from text-sound poetry, to proto-No Wave, to near-baroque minimalism. Namely begs the question: What would a similar list of 65 influencers on a different composer look like? And how would the composer translate those 65 names into a work of their own?

Anderson’s answer is at once loud and clear and deeply confounding. Namely is a work that invites a deeper dive, so jump in.

Beth Anderson (www.beand.com/) is a poet and composer of new romantic music, text-sound works, and music theater events. She has composed an opera, an oratorio, three off-off Broadway musicals, several downtown music theater collaborations, music for orchestra, voice, chorus, tape, instrumental solos with and without electronic modulation, and a large amount of chamber music, in this country and in Europe, on radio and in concert. She joined Ear Magazine on  V.1#5 in May 1973 and took it to NYC where she ran it 1975-79. Her all-Beth Anderson recordings are out on MSR (The Praying Mantis & The Bluebird, 2012), Albany (Quilt Music, 2004), New World (Swales & Angels, 2004), and Pogus (Peachy Keen-O, 2003). 1750 Arch and then Other Minds (2003) includes Torrero Piece. Her other music is on Capstone, North/South, Newport Classics, and Opus One. She is her own publisher along with Antes/Bella Musica in Germany. Born in Kentucky, she studied primarily in California with John Cage, Terry Riley, Robert Ashley and Larry Austin, at Mills College and the University of California at Davis. She has been awarded an Aaron Copland Fund for Music grant, many Meet the Composer grants, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and a Foundation for the Contemporary Performance Arts grant.

…every one of these pieces is a gem unto itself; and playback technology will now allow every listener to set his/her own strategy for appreciating the many delights of this album.  Stephen Smoliar, The Rehearsal Studio blog
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Namely is just damned fun to listen to, and if you’ve grabbed Lovely Music’s Robert Ashley reissues, I’ll bet you’ll be into this, too. Joseph Neff, The Vinyl District
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“…artfully patterned and performed with rigour, plus Anderson’s sparkly humour.” Julian Cowley, The Wire

Namely (2020)
by Beth Anderson

Total time: 55:52