VARIOUS – XVI reflections on
classical music
(CD, Decca)
Two compilations of electronic
music thematically revolving around classical music in a single month? (see V/A – Re:Haydn
for the other one) Does that mean there is a trend ahead or am I falling for
a marketing ploy by Universal Music, who after all own both Deutsche
Grammophon and Decca. Anyway, these are so different that they could come
from separate universes. And in a way they do. Let’s skip the late night
disco beats of “Re:Haydn” for an hour and concentrate on more serious
matters. This one here, entitled “XVI reflections on classical music” is
a child of the mind of Me Raabenstein, who all followers of this website
know for running Nonine Records and for his own musical endeavors under the
moniker of Slowcream as well as others. He is also notable for his wide
range of interest in music and his ability to think about music in terms
more interesting and structured than “cool” and “not cool”. And he
brings it to full play here.
As far as I can see there is
no real limitation to the tracks selected on this album, aside from being
connected to classical music in some way or at least making a statement
about classical music in whatever way. The reflection on classical music
starts to fade and blur with the simple question what it actually is? I
mean, on this record you’ll find amongst other artists serious composers
such as Philip Glass and Gavin Bryars. The latter with another reworking of
his “classical” (yet in another sense) singing tramp who repeats
“Jesus Blood never failed me yet” in perfect pitch and timing over and
over again. How many times has he reworked that now? And it is still
compelling in whichever form. However, these two composers are well grounded
within the circles of serious music, so is theirs an inside look on
classical music at the same time as being part of it? Is that possible? Or
is the reflection based on the thought, that you can take whatever you want,
e.g. the rambling of a drunkard homeless, and make it into classical music?
Hm, infusing music with conceptual art theory doesn’t sound too appealing
to me, as the results in other art forms weren’t too convincing for more
than a decade or too, but that is my humble opinion and what do I know about
art?
Then there are also serious
electronic composers included, such as Sylvain Chauveau, the piano sound researcher Hauschka or the
as legendary as inevitable Wolfgang Voigt’ project Gas with a part of his
“Zauberberg” circle. If an artist mixes slow piano chords with field
recorded samples of the sounds of e.g. a trainstation or bus depot, then
adds beats and glitches, and as intricate and fascinating as that may be,
what does it really say about classical music? Where do the subtle and
muffled beats of Gas and the relooped and relooped string sections of Gas
connect to a Fugue by Bach? Do we really have to start with a definition of
classical music that includes movie scores, or what they stand for, being,
as they are, the musical form closest to and overlapping with classical
music in structural terms, that has the broadest appeal to audiences? We
shouldn’t, I guess, though we may.
It is a fascinating thought to
then bring this definition in conflict with the even more challenging ideas
of experimental electronic music as it is being produced today. This is
where Me Raabenstein brings his own Slowcream project into the compilation, but that
is more than welcome and fitting. The general idea though is most perfectly
and consequently executed by Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto and their
aptly titled “Moon”. How is it possible that the sounds a record needle
produces when it hits that last empty groove on the vinyl starts to become
as fascinating as the Goldberg Variations as played by Glenn Gould? As on
the Re:Haydn compilation (I am sorry but since that was the first of these
to be reviewed it is being mentioned over and over again) the main obstacle
to overcome the bridge between classical music and electronic music is the
gap in their respective main structural formulas. Where classical music
lives on the reforming and constant change of a main theme in various,
almost mathematically described forms, electronic music’s backbone lies in
the unchanging monotony of stasis and its dynamics are much more subtle and
meta-levelled.
A completely different
approach pops up somewhere in the middle of “XVI reflections …” namely
Final Fantasy’s pseudo-classical vocal piece “he poos clouds” whose
full orchestra arrangement and pompous entrée contrasts ironically (or
sardonically) with the ludicrous content. At first I thought it was included
because Scott Walker didn’t allow any of his newer songs to be used, but
then such kind of tour the farce content would never cross Walker’s mind.
