5/7/2023 0 Comments Ferrari musition![]() It is a succinct and effective example of how to turn the simplest of musical fragments into something magical. ![]() “Music Promenade” succeeds because it is always upending listener expectations “Unheimlich Schön” is equally-if not more-of a triumph because it stretches one moment and one idea out past their logical conclusions. By “Unheimlich”’s conclusion, where the stuttering breaths have become quasi-rhythmic and the voice has been filtered and echoed into oblivion, a meditative calm takes over. The liner notes recommend listening “at a low volume,” and doing so gives the piece an eerie, proto-ASMR type of feeling. The piece features a woman whispering the titular phrase (which translates from German to “very nice”) as Ferrari slowly manipulates her speech and breath until this single, non-musical utterance itself becomes a piece of music. “Unheimlich Schön,” then, represents Ferrari’s more patient, pensive side. Rather than try to box Ferrari in as an early auteur of a specific style, the label embraces the litany of sounds, forms and emotions that he reaches for in his music. ![]() This pairing of pieces that seem totally at odds with each other is a move that reaffirms Recollection GRM’s intent. Where “Promenade” employed a seemingly infinite number of sounds and samples, “Unheimlich” is built entirely out of one, repeating phrase where “Promenade” focused on the chaos of colliding sounds, “Unheimlich” is all about delicate control and where “Promenade” forced the listener outward, “Unheimlich” draws them in to contemplation. “Unheimlich Schön,” written in 1971, is the foil to “Music Promenade” in almost every sense. After nearly ten minutes of constantly shifting sound worlds, an appeal to blankness is one of the most daring and rewarding moves here. The elements of surprise and incongruity play a key role in “Music Promenade,” most jarring in the unexpected stretch of silence that appears about halfway through the piece. Despite the often lofty qualities associated with early electronica, these core musique concrète artists working out of France were not unaware of the often ludicrous timbres and collages they were constructing-another Ferrari piece, “Strathoven,” is nothing more than a series of bad musical puns built out of a Stravinsky-Beethoven mash-up. The whole effect is that of an overwhelming barrage of sound, a musical equivalent to the ultramodern absurdity explored in Jacques Tati’s films from the same era.Ĭomposed between 19, “Music Promenade” is one of the best examples of Ferrari’s playful and humorous spirit. Clamorous, marching footsteps underlie a Strauss (not that one) waltz (that one), big brass sounds are as prevalent as dissonant, synthesized harmonies. The piece is meant to represent a surreal experience where a quiet stroll through a park is turned manic by a series of interrupting sounds, both conventionally musical and not. Originally intended as a surround sound exhibition work where participants’ wandering throughout the gallery space dictate the musical structure, the recorded version of “Music Promenade” offers a more direct narrative. If these two works feel less monumental than Ferrari’s more lauded material, they excel in showcasing the composer at two radical extremes of his style. Unlike the cohesive concepts behind the “Presque rien” pieces or the stoic mastery of his craft showcased on Hétérozygote / Petite symphonie…-all the subjects of recent releases- Music Promenade / Unheimlich Schön presents Ferrari as a curious, wide-eyed experimenter. Continuing with their absolutely essential reissue series of early electronic music, the Recollection GRM arm of Editions Mego is remastering and rereleasing more Luc Ferrari pieces, this time “Music Promenade” and “Unheimlich Schön,” two tape works from the late ’60s and early ’70s.
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