Radio Eclectus bids farewell to Sylvano Bussotti with a mini-retrospective of his iconoclastic work as a composer and stage director, including a look at his opera after Marquis de Sade. We also honor the 50th anniversary of key works by Sciarrino and Druckman (the latter also featuring a de Sade reference). And we celebrate John Coltrane’s 95th birthday by relating his work to new improvisation projects by William Parker, Nate Wooley, Kate Gentile and Matt Mitchell.
The CHORD duo supplies post-metal distortion while Steve Layton supplies glitches. Then comes new concertos for piano, voices and flute by two young composers: Elizabeth Ogonek and Martin Suckling. We conclude with a full uninterrupted hour of radical new chill music in the drone and dark ambient traditions by David Shea, Sarah Davachi, The Bastard Kings of Samadhi and Xiu Xiu’s Angelo Seo. Uncompromising music for extraordinary listeners, with host Michael Schell.
Annotated playlist and photo credits in Comments.
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Annotated playlist for show #97
Intro and SET 1: Coltrane's progeny [0:00]
1. [2:09] William Parker: Tabasco. From Mayan Space Station (AUM Fidelity, 2021) with William Parker (bass), Ava Mendoza (electric guitar), Gerald Cleaver (drums), Jim Clouse (recording engineer)
2. [7:45] Matt Mitchell, Kate Gentile: thing-fact | theoretical muscle. From Snark Horse (Pi, 2021) with Matt Mitchell (piano, synthesizers, electronics), Kate Gentile (drums, percussion), Ben Gerstein (trombone), Jon Irabagon (saxophones, alto clarinet)
3. [14:34] CHORD: august. From CHORD IV (Punos, 2021) with Nick Didkovsky, Tom Marsan (electric guitars)
4. [17:16] Nate Wooley: Mutual Aid Music IV-I. From Mutual Aid Music (Catalytic Sound/Pleasure of the Text Records, 2021) with Nate Wooley (trumpet), Ingrid Laubrock (sax), Joshua Modney (violin), Mariel Roberts (cello), Sylvie Courvoisier, Cory Smythe (pianos), Matt Moran (vibraphone), Russell Greenberg (vibraphone, percussion), Ryan Streber (recording engineer)
5. [31:56] Voice break with Roger Ames/Prahas Nafissian: Abraham's Land
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SET 2: Sylvano Bussotti (1931–2021) [31:56]
1. [37:37] John Coltrane: Jupiter. From Interstellar Space (Impulse, 1974) with John Coltrane (tenor saxophone, bells), Rashied Ali (drums), Rudy Van Gelder (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded 1969. See https://tinyurl.com/LaubrockInterview for connection with Ingrid Laubrock
2. [43:02] Salvatore Sciarrino: De la nuit. From Complete Piano Works 1969–1992 (Dynamic, 1993) with Massimiliano Damerini (piano). NOTE: Premiered September 23, 1971, Como, Italy by pianist Antonio Ballista
3. [47:02] Steve Layton: Idraren draren. From Pandemic 4 (NiwoSound, 2021) with Steve Layton (Reason 11, Audacity)
4. [52:31] Sylvano Bussotti: Four Piano Pieces for David Tudor. From Fluxus Piano (MDG, 2015) with Steffen Schleiermacher (piano). NOTE: Composed 1959
5. [58:42] Sylvano Bussotti: The Rara Requiem (excerpt). From The Rara Requiem, Bergkristall, Lorenzaccio Symphony (Deutsche Grammophon, 1976) with Delia Surrat (soprano), Carol Plantamura (mezzo-soprano), Giuseppe Baratti (tenor), Claudio Desderi (baritone), Chorus of the Saarbrücken Conservatory, Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra (now Deutsche Radio Philharmonie), Gianpiero Taverna (conductor)
6. [1:05:36] Sylvano Bussotti: Echi Danzanti - 4. From Echi Danzanti (Stradivarius, 2006) with Giovanna Reitano (harp, tape), Sylvano Bussotti (speaker), Matteo Tovaglieri (recording engineer). NOTE: Sade solos extracted from La Passion selon Sade (1965). Recorded 2005
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SET 3: de Sade, Griffiths and de Waal inspire [1:12:17]
1. [1:18:59] Jacob Druckman: Synapse→Valentine. From Animus III, Synapse→Valentine (Nonesuch, 1971) and Double Bass (Adda, 1990, reissued 2018 by L'empreinte Digitale) with Jacob Druckman (tape), Joëlle Léandre (double bass)
2. [1:38:01] Elizabeth Ogonek: Where are we now (excerpts). From The Oberlin Concertos (Oberlin, 2021) with Xak Bjerken (piano), Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, Timothy Weiss (conductor), Andrew Tripp (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 2019, text by Paul Griffiths
3. [1:46:08] Martin Suckling: The White Road (after Edmund de Waal). From This Departing Landscape (NMC, 2021) with Katherine Bryan (flute), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Ilan Volkov (conductor), Stephen Rinker (recording engineer)
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SET 4: Chill music for the open-eared [2:00:52]
1. [2:04:49] David Shea: AM/PM - Movement 6. From AM/PM (Room40, 2021)
2. [2:10:04] The Bastard Kings of Samadhi: Temple of Divine Turbulence. From Music for Scrying (Bandcamp, 2021) with W. David Oliphant AKA The Bastard Kings of Samadhi (live loops, acoustic guitar, misc little instruments, voice, electric bass)
3. [2:20:20] Sarah Davachi: Abeyant. From Antiphonals (Late Music, 2021)
4. [2:27:30] Sarah Davachi: Magdalena. From Antiphonals (as above)
5. [2:37:39] Hyunhye Seo: Strands I. From Strands (Room40, 2021) with Hyunhye Seo AKA Angela Seo (sounds), Jamie Stewart (recording engineer)
Photo credits: Nate Wooley by Ziga Koritnik, Sarah Davachi by Alex Waber, BUSSOTTI: Piano Piece for David Tudor No. 4, Angela Seo by Julia Brokaw, Elizabeth Ogonek by Karjaka Studios, Matt Mitchell and Kate Gentile via the artists, Joëlle Léandre via the artist, Sylvano Bussotti by Roberto Masotti, Martin Suckling by Sara Porter, John Coltrane by Lee Friedlander via Rhino Records, Nick Didkovsky via 77 Hz, Salvatore Sciarrino via the composer.