Alvin Lucier: Navigations for Strings; Small Waves

Track Listings

1. Navigations for Strings (1991)ÊÊÊ(15:17)

2. Small Waves (1997)ÊÊÊ(55:48) for String Quartet, Trombone, Piano and Two Water Pourers

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Alvin Lucier (b. 1931) has been a pioneer in many areas of music composition and performance, including the notation of performers' physical gestures, the use of brain waves in live performance, the generation of visual imagery by sound in vibrating media, and the evocation of room acoustics for musical purposes. His recent works include a series of sound installations and works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and orchestra in which - by means of close tunings with pure tones - sound waves are caused to spin through space. * Navigations for Strings (1991) was commissioned by the Hessischer Rundfunk (German Radio). Musically it consists of 4 tones, for which a long stream of continually changing melodic and instrumental combinations occur. As the players move through the combinations, they raise and lower the pitches in imperceptibly small increments, some smaller than the human ear can hear. As the size of the interval contracts, the players gradually lower the dynamic level and slow down the tempo, allowing the sounds to lengthen like shadows and recede into the ambiance of the room. Because of the closeness of the tunings, audible beats are heard at speeds determined by the distances between the pitches. In Small Waves (1997), six glass vessels, some partially filled with water, are mounted on pedestals scattered around the performance space. Microphones are inserted into the mouths of the vessels, then routed through compressor-limiters to amplifiers and monitor speakers. During the course of the performance, the volume levels of the amplifiers are raised and lowered, causing feedback at pitches determined by the size and shape of the containers and their proximity to the loudspeakers. Following a sequence notated in the score, the players closely tune with the feedback strands causing interference patterns. At times, two water pourers empty water from one container to another, raising and lowering the pitches of the sounds from those containers. * Liner notes by the composer, who also supervised the recordings.

Tracks:

Navigations for Strings (1991)15:17)
Small Waves (1997)55:48) for String Quartet, Trombone, Piano and Two Water Pourers

Album Description

Alvin Lucier (b. 1931) has been a pioneer in many areas of music composition and performance, including the notation of performers' physical gestures, the use of brain waves in live performance, the generation of visual imagery by sound in vibrating media, and the evocation of room acoustics for musical purposes. His recent works include a series of sound installations and works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, and orchestra in which - by means of close tunings with pure tones - sound waves are caused to spin through space. * Navigations for Strings (1991) was commissioned by the Hessischer Rundfunk (German Radio). Musically it consists of 4 tones, for which a long stream of continually changing melodic and instrumental combinations occur. As the players move through the combinations, they raise and lower the pitches in imperceptibly small increments, some smaller than the human ear can hear. As the size of the interval contracts, the players gradually lower the dynamic level and slow down the tempo, allowing the sounds to lengthen like shadows and recede into the ambiance of the room. Because of the closeness of the tunings, audible beats are heard at speeds determined by the distances between the pitches. In Small Waves (1997), six glass vessels, some partially filled with water, are mounted on pedestals scattered around the performance space. Microphones are inserted into the mouths of the vessels, then routed through compressor-limiters to amplifiers and monitor speakers. During the course of the performance, the volume levels of the amplifiers are raised and lowered, causing feedback at pitches determined by the size and shape of the containers and their proximity to the loudspeakers. Following a sequence notated in the score, the players closely tune with the feedback strands causing interference patterns. At times, two water pourers empty water from one container to another, raising and lowering the pitches of the sounds from those containers. * Liner notes by the composer, who also supervised the recordings.

Customer Reviews:

Minimalism to an extreme degree.......2006-07-08

I find these two works to be absolutely delightful, not from the standpoint that they are musically superb but from the standpoint that they are unique sonic experiments investigating the possibilities of sound and translating that sound onto classical/acoustic intruments.

Lucier himself is a unique composer, often preferring to work and "compose" works for pieces of technological equipment, such as an oscillator, or works which combine sound from electronic equipment with acoustic instruments, as he does here on "Small Waves". "Small Waves" is definitely seems more of a performance piece than one intended solely for listening as the concept behind the piece is for Two Water Pourers to alternate the frequencies of feedback caused by placing microphones inside jars containing water. Without seeing the actual pouring taking place, the listener is limited in scope as to what, exactly, is taking place except for the obvious changes in pitch from time to time.

While just short of an hour long, "Small Waves" is definitely intended to be the central work on this disc. However, I found "Navigations for Strings" to be not only highly original but also excellently executed by the Arditti String Quartet. In this piece, Lucier translates various frequencies and pitches picked up in the ionisphere from the Omega Navigational System into a full-fledged work for string quartet. As Lucier mentions in the liner notes, the shift from one pitch to another pitch may be so slight that it's almost entirely impossible for the human ear to pick up such differences, much less play such acute differences within a quartet! However, the Arditti Quartet perform the work with steadfast precision and accuracy!

I can't rate this work as 5 stars simply because it's not perfect. It achieves its goal, I'm sure, but it's not euphoric to listen to in the sense that it's a work you'll want to revisit once a day every day for the rest of your life, unlike, say, a symphony by Shostakovich or even Kraanerg by Iannis Xenakis. However, these are two excellent works which explore a lot of terrain conceptually and musically even though there seems to be very little happening in the notes played. It's also a work which is essential to own because, in my opinion, it broadens one's horizons as to what can be classified as music and where music, especially the avant-garde, is headed. Repeated listenings only reveals hidden textures and additional intricacies that cannot be easily picked up in just a single listen. If nothing else, I recommend this work for the Arditti Quartet's performance on "Navigations for Strings," which brims with excellence, talent, and precision!

An interesting work for fans of drones only.......2003-12-18

I am a huge fan of minimalism and had heard much about Alvin lucier before coming across this cd in my local record store. Let me start out by saying that it's challenging listening to say the least. I've probably listened to the whole thing maube six or seven times, and I just now feel that I'm starting to be able to appreciate it. These two pieces, like some of his other work, explore microtuning and the resonance of hollow vessels. The music itself is very drone like, but there are subtle changes if you listen hard enough. It quite reminds me of John Cale's work with the dream syndicate. One thing to note, I find it needs to be played quite loudly in order to distinctly hear the wave interference patterns, otherwise it will sound like little else than an extended drone.

Track Listings: