The Entire Musical WorkIt's a major event to have Duchamp's music on CD! Not only a major 20th-century artist, Duchamp composed ... or, rather, created musical situations that Petr Kotik and John Cage, on this CD, have realized in sound.
All of the music on this CD was either certainly or probably composed in 1913. 'Erratum Musical', for three voices, consists of three parts that, in the absence of instructions, we assume can be performed separately or together. 'Sculpture Musicale', simply a note calling for sounds that form a lasting sound sculpture, is realized here both as a mesostic by John Cage, with John Cage reciting, and in a realization by Petr Kotik. 'La Mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires même. Erratum Musical.' (1913), usually translated as 'The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even. Musical Erratum', is performed in two realizations, one for mechanical piano, the other by Petr Kotik for the S.E.M. Ensemble.
For 'The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even. Musical Erratum', Duchamp calls for a vase, a toy train with open cars, and lots of little balls with notes printed on them that are made to fall from the vase through a funnel into the cars of the toy train passing below, from which the balls are taken by musicians and played. As Duchamp wrote: "Vase containing the 89 notes (or more: 1/4 tone) figures among numbers on each ball Opening A letting the balls drop into a series of little wagons B, C, D, E, F, etc. Wagons B, D, E, F, going at a variable speed, each one receiving one or several balls ... can be performed by a designated instrument ... (to be developed)."
These are extraordinary moments in the history of 20th-century music.
Publisher:
Dog W / A Bone
All of the music on this CD was either certainly or probably composed in 1913. 'Erratum Musical', for three voices, consists of three parts that, in the absence of instructions, we assume can be performed separately or together. 'Sculpture Musicale', simply a note calling for sounds that form a lasting sound sculpture, is realized here both as a mesostic by John Cage, with John Cage reciting, and in a realization by Petr Kotik. 'La Mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires même. Erratum Musical.' (1913), usually translated as 'The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even. Musical Erratum', is performed in two realizations, one for mechanical piano, the other by Petr Kotik for the S.E.M. Ensemble.
For 'The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even. Musical Erratum', Duchamp calls for a vase, a toy train with open cars, and lots of little balls with notes printed on them that are made to fall from the vase through a funnel into the cars of the toy train passing below, from which the balls are taken by musicians and played. As Duchamp wrote: "Vase containing the 89 notes (or more: 1/4 tone) figures among numbers on each ball Opening A letting the balls drop into a series of little wagons B, C, D, E, F, etc. Wagons B, D, E, F, going at a variable speed, each one receiving one or several balls ... can be performed by a designated instrument ... (to be developed)."
These are extraordinary moments in the history of 20th-century music.
Publisher:
Dog W / A Bone
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The Music of Marcel Duchamp· In the turbulent years from 1912 to 1915, Marcel Duchamp worked with musical ideas. He composed two works of music and a conceptual piece -- a note suggesting a musical happening. Of the two compositions, one is for three voices and the other combines a piece for a mechanical instrument with a description of the compositional system.
· Although Marcel Duchamp's musical oeuvre is sparse, these pieces represent a radical departure from anything done up until that time. Duchamp anticipated with his music something that then became apparent in the visual arts, especially in the Dada Movement: the arts are here for all to create, not just for skilled professionals. Duchamp's lack of musical training could have only enhanced his exploration in compositions. His pieces are completely independent of the prevailing musical scene around 1913.
· The pieces by Marcel Duchamp are all different. Two of them have been composed with chance operations, but in each case the method is different. The third piece is just a short note on a small, stray piece of paper. It is not possible to precisely date these pieces, but it is almost certain that they were all written in 1913.
· The earliest known public performance of 'Musical Erratum' was broadcast over Tokyo FM radio's Music of the Twentieth Century in October 1960, director Kuniharu Akiyama. Akiyama also produced in 1969 the composition's stage premier in the program Rencontre with the 20th Century's Art Movements and Music in Tokyo.
· TEXT CREDITS Petr Kotik, 'The Music of Marcel Duchamp', text to the CD Music of Marcel Duchamp, Edition Block + Paula Cooper Gallery, 1991 and Schwarz, The complete works of Marcel Duchamp (New York, 2000) 572. CDe #: DW101
· Although Marcel Duchamp's musical oeuvre is sparse, these pieces represent a radical departure from anything done up until that time. Duchamp anticipated with his music something that then became apparent in the visual arts, especially in the Dada Movement: the arts are here for all to create, not just for skilled professionals. Duchamp's lack of musical training could have only enhanced his exploration in compositions. His pieces are completely independent of the prevailing musical scene around 1913.
· The pieces by Marcel Duchamp are all different. Two of them have been composed with chance operations, but in each case the method is different. The third piece is just a short note on a small, stray piece of paper. It is not possible to precisely date these pieces, but it is almost certain that they were all written in 1913.
· The earliest known public performance of 'Musical Erratum' was broadcast over Tokyo FM radio's Music of the Twentieth Century in October 1960, director Kuniharu Akiyama. Akiyama also produced in 1969 the composition's stage premier in the program Rencontre with the 20th Century's Art Movements and Music in Tokyo.
· TEXT CREDITS Petr Kotik, 'The Music of Marcel Duchamp', text to the CD Music of Marcel Duchamp, Edition Block + Paula Cooper Gallery, 1991 and Schwarz, The complete works of Marcel Duchamp (New York, 2000) 572. CDe #: DW101
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