Comments on: The Bare Minimal

By: opus111

opus111 — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:29:12 +0000

I just wanted to say how happy I was to see the initial suggestion of The Pearl by Eno / Budd. I’d also suggest lookng into Eno’s continuing interest in Generative Art. His recent installation, “77 Million Paintings,” further signals his pursuit of the idea that art can be self-generating. Thoughts?

By: Joseph Holbrooke

Joseph Holbrooke — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:40:11 +0000

The thing you really want to avoid is a history that starts when white people with support and resources starting making the sort of music that people from all over had been making for a very long time. My personal favorite American minimalist composer is without a doubt Blind Willie Johnson. Three great examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R8RuOagzck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD4fKKhYS1g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRGl6Twebvc

By: Christian

Christian — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:45:23 +0000

Allan and Anthony,

Both the Carl and Fink are on the reading list. I second Anthony’s assessment of Carl’s In C – it’s got a lot of excellent material in it.

By: Anthony Cornicello

Anthony Cornicello — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:34:05 +0000

Two things not mentioned here:
1.) Robert Carl’s book on In C. It’s a fascinating study, well worth the read.

2.) The influence of “So What” on Terry Riley, and hence, minimalism in general. This is discussed in Robert’s book, and when you grasp the connection, it’s quite amazing.

By: Allan J. Cronin

Allan J. Cronin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:51:35 +0000

Oops, the actual name of the Borden piece is “The Continuing Story of Counterpoint”.

By: Allan J. Cronin

Allan J. Cronin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:18:38 +0000

Got to include Robert Fink’s wonderful book, “Repeating Ourselves”. It is an amazingly inclusive survey of minimalism and doesn’t limit itself to so called classical pieces. This is really worth a read.

And BTW you have to include Borden’s “Continuing Studies in Counterpoint”. It is an under recognized masterpiece of minimalism.

By: zeno

zeno — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:16:17 +0000

OK Chris. And some Inuit music might be appropriate too.

By: Christian

Christian — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:24:52 +0000

Nathan,

I agree. We’re talking about Feldman on day one!

It’s been the summer of Feldman for me. I’ve gotten to present his music in three different classes.

Best,
C

By: Nathan Brock

Nathan Brock — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:02:43 +0000

Given the breadth of the above, I really think Feldman also belongs in this discussion, especially the long late pieces. And in terms of precursors, of course Satie also deserves a mention, and others in Les Six and elsewhere interested in Furniture Music.

By: Christian

Christian — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:17:10 +0000

Thanks to all for their valuable suggestions. As Armando and David point out, it’s challenging to decide what is vital to include, but I appreciate these comprehensive lists.

Thought I’d spent time with the recording, tonight was the first time I’ve heard David Lang’s “Little Match Girl Passion” live: very affecting!