18.4.09
Mauricio Kagel, Acustica (1968 - 70)
for experimental sound-producers and loudspeakers
(Deutsche Grammophon 2707 059)
for experimental sound-producers and loudspeakers
(Deutsche Grammophon 2707 059)
«Acustica is perhaps the most refined example of Kagel's work within his invented genre of 'instrumental theatre'. The score notes that 'the piece calls for unorthodox musicians who are prepared to extend the frontiers of their craft' since few of the 'experimental sound devices' specified are conventional instruments and where conventional instruments are included they are to be played in extraordinary ways. Each instrumental action is, however, meticulously notated and the creation and/or modification of instruments are also shown in diagrams and photographs. What the score does not specify is the order in which the individual instrumental events are to be played; Kagel suggests instead that each performer should select the events that they want to perform and then discover in rehearsal how best to order them in combination both with the pre-recorded material and with the sounds of the other players. If the result owes obvious debts both to John Cage and to the theatre of the absurd, its subversive critique of received ideas on what constitutes music and musical instruments is above all typical of Kagel, contemporary master of irony». (Christopher Fox)
Kölner Ensemble für Neue Musik: Christoph Caskel, Karlheinz Böttner, Edward H. Tarr, Wilhelm Bruck & Vinko Globokar. Recorded at Studio Rhenus, Godof Bei, Köln (28-31.1.1971)
