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a distOrted dreAm…

NA

[Genre]Modern

a distOrted dreAm… appears on the following albums

Album Artist
Play ButtonTradition and Beyond Shakuhachi : Michael Chikuzen Gould
The percussion part for this piece takes its inspiration from Karlheinz Stockhausen's work-Mikrophonie 1 (1964) for tam-tam (two players), two microphones, two filters and controls. In the instructions he provides some commentary on his new use of recording equipment and electronics: "The microphone has, up to now, been treated as a lifeless, passive recording instrument for the purpose of obtaining a sound playback that is as faithful as possible: now it also has to become a musical instrument, and to be used in turn to affect every aspect of sound. Thus it has to be able to contribute to shaping pitches, harmonically and melodically, also rhythm, dynamic level, timbre and spatial projection of sound, according to composed indications." I have taken Stockhausen's idea of making the microphone and electronics operator an equal musical partner with the tam-tam and shakuhachi. In Stockhausen's initial experiments for Mikrophonie I, the microphone and electronics operator are allowed to react spontaneously to the results of the combined activity. In keeping with the changing states of dreams, I have let the tam-tam, microphone and electronics operator remain free to react to each other while the shakuhachi remains in the role of a child. The shakuhachi throughout the piece is "singing" children's songs unaware of any problems or misfortune and unable to interface with the dream. The tam-tam is the dream trying to compare the vision in front of itself with its own memory (sometimes hearing the child's song). The distortion (microphone/electronics operator) literally lies between the dream (tam-tam) and the child (shakuhachi). The shakuhachi melodies are Japanese folk tunes and children's songs.