The Music of Alvin Lucier with Cellist Charles Curtis

American minimalist composer Alvin Lucier made a life of the physicality of music. Working on the fringes of experimental music and sound installations, he explored acoustic phenomena and auditory perception like no other. A longtime professor at Wesleyan, Lucier's music is heavily influenced by science, seeking to identify and toy with the physical properties of sound itself. The resonance of spaces, phase interference between closely-tuned pitches, and the transmission of sound through physical media have been major areas of focus. "I Am Sitting in a Room" (1970) involved the intricate playback of Lucier reading a text in a room, recording it, then playing it back and recording it again, and so forth. The unique resonance of each room eventually muddles the spoken word as certain frequencies are carried to the forefront. Eventually, no words are audible at all: pure resonant harmonies and tones of the room itself. The listener is listening to a room, and Lucier was a vessel for that experience. Other influential pieces include Music on a Long Thin Wire" and "Clocker".

At this very special performance of his music, the New Music Coop will present Californian cellist and colleague of Lucier Charles Curtis, a Julliard graduate and true virtuoso. They'll perform "Vespers," (1968) and dedicated to "all living creatures who inhabit dark places and who, over the years, have developed acuity in the art of echolocation." Yes, it's about bats. NMC members Bill Meadows and Travis Weller will use crafted replicas of the electronic "Sondol" echo-location devices (used in the original piece) to send sounds into the environment. Also being performed will be "Still and Moving Lines of Silence in Families of Hyperbolas," (1984) and "Silver Streetcar for the Orchestra," performed by Nick Hennies.

Alvin Lucier [Official] ["I Am Sitting in a Room" (YouTube)]
New Music Coop [Official]
Charles Curtis [Wiki]