Liner Notes
Cat. No. NWCRL310
Release Date: 2010-02-15
Helen Hamm, soprano; University of Illinois Contemporary Chamber Players; Jack McKenzie, Conductor; Contemporary Brass Quintet: Elin Frazier, trumpet; Daniel Orlock, trumpet; Edward Curenton, horn; Robert Moore, trombone; Jonathan Dornblum, tuba; Roman Pawlowski, Conductor
Lejaren Hiller writes:
“Much nonsense has been written about computers ‘thinking’ and ‘creating.’ After all, a computer is really nothing more than a complex array of hardware. It can be tremendously useful hardware, however, but only if you know the limitations of programming logic and how to ask sensible and precisely formulated questions.
“Should a person listen to this piece as he might ‘ordinary music’? Yes, I think, but with this important qualification: It is much more didactic than expressive compared to most music. This piece is truly experimental because it is concerned with revealing process as well as being final product. It is an embodiment of objective research results. It is a laboratory notebook. Sometimes the results surprise us because a compositional routine seemed less effective than expected, sometimes more so. If I had deleted everything that disturbed me esthetically, I would have falsified the research record. So, at that time, my objective in composing music by means of computer programming was not the immediate realization of an esthetic unity, but the providing and evaluation of techniques whereby this goal could eventually be realized.”
John Melby writes about his music:
“91 Plus 5 (the title refers to nothing more than the fact that the piece is scored for an electronic tape realized on an IBM 360/91 digital computer and five brass instruments) is a composition in nine sections which combine to form one continuous movement. The first through eighth sections form a large arch-form, with the first related to the eighth, the second to the seventh, etc. The ninth section serves as a ‘coda.’ Each pair of related sections emphasizes a different aspect of the basic rhythmic/pitch materials. In addition, the related sections correspond in terms of tempo relationships, ‘timbral’ considerations, etc.
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Full liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Lejaren Hiller writes:
“Much nonsense has been written about computers ‘thinking’ and ‘creating.’ After all, a computer is really nothing more than a complex array of hardware. It can be tremendously useful hardware, however, but only if you know the limitations of programming logic and how to ask sensible and precisely formulated questions.
“Should a person listen to this piece as he might ‘ordinary music’? Yes, I think, but with this important qualification: It is much more didactic than expressive compared to most music. This piece is truly experimental because it is concerned with revealing process as well as being final product. It is an embodiment of objective research results. It is a laboratory notebook. Sometimes the results surprise us because a compositional routine seemed less effective than expected, sometimes more so. If I had deleted everything that disturbed me esthetically, I would have falsified the research record. So, at that time, my objective in composing music by means of computer programming was not the immediate realization of an esthetic unity, but the providing and evaluation of techniques whereby this goal could eventually be realized.”
John Melby writes about his music:
“91 Plus 5 (the title refers to nothing more than the fact that the piece is scored for an electronic tape realized on an IBM 360/91 digital computer and five brass instruments) is a composition in nine sections which combine to form one continuous movement. The first through eighth sections form a large arch-form, with the first related to the eighth, the second to the seventh, etc. The ninth section serves as a ‘coda.’ Each pair of related sections emphasizes a different aspect of the basic rhythmic/pitch materials. In addition, the related sections correspond in terms of tempo relationships, ‘timbral’ considerations, etc.
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Full liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Hiller, Baker, Melby: Computer Music
| MP3/320 | $13.00 | |
| FLAC | $13.00 | |
| WAV | $13.00 | |
| CD-R | $13.00 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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Computer Cantata: Prolog to Strophe I - Strophe I
Lejaren Hiller, Robert Baker
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Computer Cantata: Prolog to Strophe II - Strophe II
Lejaren Hiller, Robert Baker
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Computer Cantata: Prolog to Strophe III - Strophe III
Lejaren Hiller, Robert Baker
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Computer Cantata: Strophe IV - Epilog to Strophe IV
Lejaren Hiller, Robert Baker
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Computer Cantata: Strophe V - Epilog to Strophe V
Lejaren Hiller, Robert Baker
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91 Plus 5
John Melby
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