[8.2] Golden Record Curation

by markpepe

My strategy to curate was to find pieces that contain an obvious example of the universality of musical elements tempo, dynamics, harmony, melody, and texture. Obviously, all the pieces on voyager contain them, but I tried to pick the ones where those elements were most present and where I could make connections between those pieces composed all around the world. Some common elements that are present are the use of ostinato patterns (repeated rhythms and pitch), chant, call and response musical phrases, and representations of nature. Listen for the steady even pulse and subdivision of rhythm in Western music, and how complex the rhythms can get in Senegal and Zaire maintaining that pulse and adding some groove.

  1. Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. First Movement, Munich Bach Orchestra, Karl Richter, conductor. I chose Bach as the number one piece of music because of Bach’s impact and what it represents. Upon listening, us humans are transported to Baroque period Europe with people wearing powdered wigs. However, this piece is more than that, because it demonstrates logic aurally. Speaking in musical terms, Bach synthesized musical harmony through his compositions. Harmonies that were first observed by Pythagoras (interval ratios, harmony of the spheres). Bach’s synthesized functional harmony gives logic and reason for musical composition. Musical harmony progresses from tonic to subdominant to dominant and finally resolving back to the tonic. This can happen in the span of bar, phrase, movement, to an entire piece of music. Every music student studies Bach’s harmonies the same way that the student in the classroom studies math. Furthermore, Bach’s use of rhythm in this piece demonstrates a steady pulse with it’s subdivisions (think fractions) of quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes.
  2. Mozart, The Magic Flute, Queen of the Night aria, no. 14. Edda Moser, soprano. Bavarian State Opera, Munich, Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor. Mozart comes next on the list because it carries on the musical tradition of Bach and it makes the human and emotional more transparent. Our musical logic here becomes more creative by adding contrast: pushing and pulling the tempo, forti and piani, thin and thick instrumental texture. It also demonstrates the extremes of the human voice, and a human’s athletic ability aurally. Also, the universe should hear the beautiful voice of Edda Moser, one of the greats.
  3. Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conductor. Haydn composed 104 symphonies, Mozart composed 41, and Beethoven wrote 9, but he made them count. His greatest was composed while he was going deaf. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is likely the most well known symphonic work because it’s impact is heard in all types of media: commercials, television, film. The da da da dum is in our collective conscious. Furthermore, compared to Mozart where emotions begin to surface, Beethoven brings it to a boil. Furthermore, where Mozart started to add contrast with rhythm, dynamics, and texture, Beethoven accentuates those and adds more crunching chromaticism – the use of notes outside of a key.
  4. Stravinsky, Rite of Spring, Sacrificial Dance, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky, conductor. Stravinsky, pushes all of the boundaries of musical elements composed by the three previous composers. Stravinsky’s concept of the ballet Rite of Spring is to invoke a prehistoric primal pagan ritual. Stravinsky uses bitonality, two keys at the same time, with constant meters changes, and contrasting duple and triple meters. Stravinsky uses clusters of notes for a percussive effect. Furthermore, even though the rhythms and harmonies are complex there is still a steady pulse as well as pleasing melodies. If Beethoven brought emotions to a boil, Stravinsky boiled them over.This work caused a lot of controversy during the premiere in 1913. Audiences’ whose musical taste includes Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker were not expecting this! In a way, I wonder if this work was a sign of things to come, World War One, was a year away.
  5. Navajo Indians, Night Chant, recorded by Willard Rhodes. This is an example of a chant. One can here the steady pulse of a shaker throughout. Also, there is a call and response to their chanting: the call being the chant in the middle and lower part of the voice, and the response being  in high pitch and sung in falsetto.
  6. Senegal, percussion, recorded by Charles Duvelle. This piece from Senegal demonstrates complex rhythms played by multiple drums, but there is still a prominent steady pulse. If one listens closely the rhythm of the high pitched drums start to produce a melody. The addition of the person chanting transforms the music into a trance like experience.
  7. Zaire, Pygmy girls’ initiation song, recorded by Colin Turnbull. This Pygmy song, which is completely sung, has four parts. Two groups singing ostinato patterns as a foundation, and a lead chanter giving a call, and another chanter responding. This has a similar trance like experience like the piece from Senegal which is caused by a steady repetition.
  8. Japan, shakuhachi, “Tsuru No Sugomori” (“Crane’s Nest,”) performed by Goro Yamaguchi. This piece performed on a traditional Japanese flute demonstrates the ability of a simple instrument being able to play complicated and creative music to represent nature. One instrument presents the life cycle of a crane and uses playing techniques, like fluttering tonguing, to represent flapping wings (International Shakuhachi Society, 2022).
  9. Java, court gamelan, “Kinds of Flowers,” recorded by Robert Brown. This piece includes elements from the previous four pieces: call and response solo and group chant (Navajo and Zaire) steady percussive beats played by pitched percussion which creates a melody (Senegal), and a musical representation of nature (Japan), flowers in this case. The gamelan percussion instruments also use ostinato patterns which use steady beats to underlay the piece. Also, notice how there is use of contrasting musical elements of slow and fast tempi, contrast of loud and soft dynamics, thin and thick musical texture. It is important to note that this music has its own tuning system which differs from the 12 equally tempered western tuning system.
  10. “Dark Was the Night,” written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson. I close with this piece because the blues is the foundation of North American popular music. Furthermore, the blues take elements from some of the world music previously listed: steady bass line, pedal tone on D, of an open guitar string, melodic playing up the fretboard, and Blind Willie Johnson humming a call and response with his voice and the guitar.

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