MESSAGIO GALORE [take] V

published as preface to MESSAGIO GALORE take V by & as part of the Ottawa International Writers Festival, spring 2oo8

 

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MAID MANIFEST: FRAMING THE O

 

posited

 

music is a structured act of listening. regardless of the origin of the sound source – a rigidly-structured symphony for double orchestra & mixed choirs, say, or the next 4 minutes & 33 seconds of random air perturberances – it is that act of listening that imposes conceptual stavery on the aural recept.

 

the oral recept, in the other ear, though similarly informed by the same sets of intervalencies (pitch/timbre/duration), is subjected to a conceptual receipt that aims almost solely at semantic construction, the materiality of the sounds themselves all but transparent in servility to the carried content.

 

sound poetry exists in the wide expanse between & interpenetrating into music & literature. a focus on the materiality of language stretches all the way from our prelinguistic heights to well beyond the current fashionations of postmodern cacademicism. from inadvertent grunt when the rock conks yr block to highly sophisticated choral extravaganzæ, sound poetry resists static definition of its material malleability.

 

deposited

 

as much as sound poetry enjoys parametric freeplay through literary & musical semioses, fixing on the sounds themselves as product is only part of the equation, the score all but transparent to the listening.

 

sound poetry is synæsthesia at work, a process of sounding sight. while this can be said of reading words & music generally, sound poetry's formal malleability is not limited to its manifestations as sound but is equally delimited in terms of its scoring techniques, which can contain elements of musical, literary &or a variety of optophonetic notational systems (a score can also be simply a set of instructions (not unlike a recipe) or a photograph of a leafless tree, its branchings ripe with lettriste pickings).

 

reposited

 

sound poetry is genrificational sabotage, rupturing the passivity of somnolent audi(o)ence.

 

audience is activerbal, re(ac)quiring an intercourse of emotion & intellection that allows the recept the rapture of conception.

 

not deconstruction but reconstruction.

 

not demented but remented.

 

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MESSAGIO GALORE

 

province

 

sound is always an aspect of any form of writing, deliberately or not. from interior devices such as alliteration & homophony through chant & concrete poetry to sound scored for one or more voices, even the overt avoidance of such fascinations describes an acute awareness of the connotative potential of sound as content. red allowed, sound fastenates.

 

provenance

 

if linear poetry, chant & soundscores can be read aloud, it stands to reason that other forms of non-unilinear writing can be subjected to optophonetic translation processes into sound. at latest as early as the 19teens, sound poetry was battering at the bafflements of the genteel poetry reading & has continued in development ever since, albeit marginalized (from whence came, it should be remembered, such wondrous sepses as the Carmina Burana).

 

despite this continuity, its marginalization has been equally continuous & there is not – now, in Canada – much in the way of public performances of sound poetry outside the occasional choral novelty & random inclusions in various writers' readings. as a willwishing audience to such work, this is somewhat less than satisfying.

 

providence

 

MESSAGIO GALORE is thetic: an examination of scoring, reading, sounding & hearing techniques across as wide a range as one person with scant resources finds possible to play with.

 

its function is as a sort of a personal/live/serial anthology of chameleonate content, utilizing my own archive of material & many friends willing to undergo the rigours of rehearsal. while serving as a forum for my own compositions, it has grown to include much historical material from a wide range of sources both Canadian & international, its reach extending from the prolonged present (there will be new works premiered each time around) back to the 6th century (sofar).

 

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ALEXANDER'S DARK BAND

 

participation

 

MESSAGIO GALORE is curated, directed, mainly arranged & performed, & partly written by jwcurry with the able assistance of many. it has been part of the study to perform particular pieces with a variety of people to hear how personality functions & modifies performance. thus far:

 

MESSAGIO GALORE: with Maria Erskine, 26 february 2oo4, Ottawa

MESSAGIO GALORE II: with Max Middle & Jennifer Books, 24 september 2oo5, Ottawa

MESSAGIO GALORE III: with Peter Norman, Ross Priddle & Laurie Fuhr, 21 july 2oo7, Calgary

MESSAGIO GALORE IV: with/as Alexander's Dark Band & Auxiliary, Trish Postle, 6 october 2oo7, Toronto

MESSAGIO GALORE V: with/as Alexander's Dark Band & Auxiliary, John Lavery & Carmel Purkis, 13 april 2oo8, Ottawa

 

particulation

 

Alexander's Dark Band consists of jwcurry, Maria Erskine, Nicholas Power & Rob Read

 

particularization

 

Alexander's Dark Band is the darker zone between primary & secondary rainbows, a light phonemenon Nicholas Power encountered in working on his manuscript of concrete poetry, The Theory of the Rainbow, in the early mid-'8os. he commented then on the potential aptness of the name for an ensemble, should he ever find himself part of one. during the delights of our gruelling rehearsals in Toronto, i was struck by the functionality of our working unit &, unanticipated by Nick, figured it made sense to have this specific collective be so-named & announced us as such.

 

post-performance, it was determined that we would be most interested in working further together on this project, honing & developing, expanding what might be possible with a fixed continity of personnel.

 

MESSAGIO GALORE will continue to explore other vocal apparati (both in terms of different ensembles & Alex's auxiliaries) but revels in the rewards of such a dedicated quartet

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part 1

 

1. Collaboration No. 2, Steve McCaffery (Canada, 1978?). duo: curry/Power

 

2. Hare Pronounced Hair, Rafael Barreto-Rivera/Paul Dutton/Steve McCaffery (Canada, 1977). trio: curry/Power/Read

 

3. IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE, Frank Zappa (USA, 1964). full quartet

 

4. ears, Michelle April/jwcurry (Canada, 2oo6). solo: curry

 

5. Riryphur's rurrusur, jwcurry/Rob Read (Canada, 2oo8). full quartet

 

6. Generations, bpNichol (Canada, 1988). solo: curry

 

7. Alice in Wonderland, Sam Loyd (USA, 189-?). full quartet

 

8. Salmon River Soliloquy, David UU (Canada, 1973). solo: curry

 

9. SEVEN WAYS OF STARVING, jwcurry/Beverley Daurio (Canada, 199o?). full quartet

 

1o. "CRUX ", Venantius Fortunatus (Merovingia, c.53o-6oo). full quartet

 

11. der minister I, Jaap Blonk (Netherlands, 1992?). solo: curry

 

12. Devil-Trap Spiral, John Furnival (England, 1965?). solo: curry

 

13. KARAWANE, Hugo Ball (Switzerland, 1917). solo: curry

 

14. Monograms–Genealogy–Grammarology, bpNichol (Canada, 1988). full quartet

 

15. CRODZIAC DZÉGOUM APIR, Claude Gauvreau (Canada, 195-?). solo: curry

 

16. sweet suite suet, Ernst Jandl (Austria, 197o?). solo: curry

 

17. DAS GROSSE LALULA, Christian Morgenstern (Germany, 189o?). solo: curry

 

18. " end ant ", Wharton Hood (Canada, 1996). duo: Power/Read

 

19. WORM, Bob Cobbing (England, 1954). full quartet

 

2o. Forcible dislocation of personality, Herbert Stencil (Canada, 1994?). full quartet

 

21. WELTWEHE, August Stramm (Germany, 1914). solo: curry

 

22. KNOTS, jwcurry (Canada, 1982). duo: Erskine/Power

 

23. SHIFT 3, jwcurry/Peggy Lefler (Canada, 1982). intro: Power; duo: Erskine/Read

 

24. A LITTLE NASTINESS, Four Horsemen (Rafael Barreto-Rivera/Paul Dutton/Steve McCaffery/bpNichol; Canada, 1981). full quartet

 

25. The Tibetan Memory Trick, traditional/arranged by Howard Kaylan/Ian Underwood/Mark Volman (USA, 1975). full sextet with Alec's Socks

 

26. " Mon Olivine ", Claude Gauvreau (Canada, 196-?). solo: curry

 

27. " My Olivine ", Claude Gauvreau/translated by Ray Ellenwood (Canada, 197-?). solo: curry

 

28. SHE WAS A VISITOR, Robert Ashley (USA, 1967). full sextet with Alec's Socks

 

(intromissium)

 

part 2

 

29. Heights (Universal Language), Alexei Kruchenykh (Russia, 1919?). solo: curry

 

3o. Another Motive, Rafael Barreto-Rivera/bpNichol (Canada, 1979). full sextet with Alex's Socks

 

31. APPROXIMATE, Frank Zappa (USA, 1972?). full quartet

 

32. " kp'erioUM ", Raoul Hausmann (Germany, 1918)

 

33. OPIUM MARBLE, jwcurry (Canada, 198o). duo: curry/Read

 

34. THE MAN IN THE LOWER LEFT HAND CORNER OF THE PHOTOGRAPH, Mike Patton (USA, 1995). solo: curry

 

35. East Wind, bpNichol (Canada, 197-?). full quartet

 

36. Fury of Sneezing, Kurt Scwitters (England, 1946?). solo: curry

 

37. PLEASE SIGN MY CAST – NO, NOT THERE; HIGHER, jwcurry (Canada, 2oo8). full quartet

 

38. PAESAGGIO + TEMPORALE, Giacomo Balla (Italy, 1915). solo: curry

 

39. CANZONE RUMORISTA cantata in coro sui teatri d'Italia in ANICCAM del 2000, Fortunato Depero (Italy, 1916?). solo: curry

 

4o. Marcia futurista, F.T.Marinetti (Italy, 1916). solo: curry

 

41. CANZONE RUMORISTA (ritmo cinese), Fortunato Depero (Italy, 1916). solo: curry

 

42. Oiseautal, Raoul Hausmann (France, 1918?). solo: Read, simultaneous with

43. Super-Bird-Song, Kurt Schwitters (England, 1946?). solo: curry

 

44. B, François Dufrene (France, 1958). trio: curry/Power/Read

 

45. Pike-Fishing North Milne Lake, Gerry Shikatani (Canada, 1977?). full quartet

 

46. ONAN's NANOLECHCTURER, jwcurry (Canada, 2oo2). solo: curry

 

47. MUSHY PEAS, Steve McCaffery/bpNichol (England, 1978). duo: curry/Power

 

48. der minister II, Jaap Blonk (Netherlands, 1992?). solo: curry

 

49. Pieces Of Stop, bpNichol (Canada, 1978). full quartet

 

5o. TRACT, jwcurry (Canada, 1995). solo: curry

 

51. 16 Part Suite, Steve McCaffery/bpNichol (Canada, 1971-8?). duo: curry/Erskine

 

52. " pouadlé ", Václava Vokolka (Czechoslovakia, 198-?). full quartet

 

53. INTERRUPTED NAP a verbal/pre-verbal landscape, bpNichol (Canada, 1982). solo: curry

 

54. anacyclic poem with two shouts DHARMATHOUGHTS STUPAWARDS, Dom Sylvester Houédard (England, 1966). duo: Power/Read

 

55. WHITE TEXT SURE version ten, bpNichol (Canada, 1981). full quartet

 

56. Scomposizione I, Luigi Gallina (Italy, 1933). full quartet

 

57. Artikulationen, Franz Mon (Germany, 199o?). full quartet

 

58. TWO: Less Time, bpNichol (Canada, 1982?). full sextet with Alec's Socks

 

59. A THOUSAND MOODS A MINUTE, Shant Basmajian (Canada, 1992?). full sextet with Alec's Socks

 

6o. ma meeshka mow skwoz, Mike Patton (USA, 1995). solo: curry

 

61. "How The Pigs' Music Works", Frank Zappa (USA, 1994). trio: Erskine/Power/Read

 

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cover: Herbert Stencil (2o above)

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filmed by Josh Massey

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see also:

 

invitations:

www.flickr.com/photos/48593922@N04/8306764432/

www.flickr.com/photos/48593922@N04/8316345864/

 

photos:

www.flickr.com/photos/johnwmacdonald/2413412026/

www.flickr.com/photos/johnwmacdonald/2413820348/

www.flickr.com/photos/johnwmacdonald/2412816001/

www.flickr.com/photos/johnwmacdonald/2413730700/

www.flickr.com/photos/johnwmacdonald/2413678042/

www.flickr.com/photos/johnwmacdonald/2413597778/

www.flickr.com/photos/johnwmacdonald/2413705652/

www.flickr.com/photos/johnwmacdonald/2413760060/

www.flickr.com/photos/pearlpirie/2417145426/

 

review:

pearlformance.livejournal.com/97847.html

 

publications:

www.flickr.com/photos/48593922@N04/7454852466/

www.flickr.com/photos/48593922@N04/7454776018/

www.flickr.com/photos/48593922@N04/7454774920/

www.flickr.com/photos/48593922@N04/7453977374/

 

 

 

Done