In his latest book, Schafer describes a composition as “a multicultural event in which we laugh at ourselves and each other.” It’s a good description for the memoir itself: its scope is vast, but its tone is irreverent, lighthearted. Schafer does nothing here to dispel his reputation as an enfant terrible. He makes cheeky, bombasticContinue reading “R. Murray Schafer. My Life on Earth and Elsewhere.”
Genre Archives
Chris Watson and Marcus Davidson. Cross-Pollination.
Of all earthly creatures, insects come the closest to resembling aliens: exoskeletons, multifaceted eyes, barbed legs, and an impenetrable collectiveness. Their sonic world is highlighted on Cross-Pollination. Central to the two tracks on this CD are recordings of insects by Chris Watson, renowned nature-sound recordist. Midnight at the Oasis is a condensed soundscape composed fromContinue reading “Chris Watson and Marcus Davidson. Cross-Pollination.”
The Element Choir. At Rosedale United.
Christine Duncan leads the most unlikely ensemble devoted to collective improvisation, Toronto’s fifty-one-voice Element Choir. The choir’s improvisation is strongly shaped by Duncan’s ongoing “conduction.” In performance, members respond to a series of signals and gestures with everything from sustained tones and evolving drones through unintelligible massed conversation to sudden dramatic “whooshes” of sound. TheseContinue reading “The Element Choir. At Rosedale United.”
Paul Steenhuisen. Sonic Mosaics. Conversations with Composers.
Sonic Mosaics is a collection of interviews conducted by Paul Steenhuisen with thirty-two contemporary music composers between September 2001 and November 2004. Most of these were originally published in Wholenote Magazine, a monthly Toronto publication covering all aspects of musical activity within the Greater Toronto Area. James Harley: I’m willing to argue that all musicContinue reading “Paul Steenhuisen. Sonic Mosaics. Conversations with Composers.”
Darbazi. Vakhtanguri.
This CD is a wonderful document of Darbazi, one of Toronto’s many distinctive choirs. Darbazi has been focusing on the traditional polyphonic vocal music from the country of Georgia for the last fifteen years, developing their knowledge through travels and exchanges. Vakhatanguri presents a strong survey of “table songs,” a type of toast, and otherContinue reading “Darbazi. Vakhtanguri.”