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January 23, 2013

nissimmusic se passera au 9-cube le 29 janvier // February 1 in Billyburg nissimmusic will happen

Filed under: concert announcements, harpsichord, Il buono, violin, cello, percussion, Trio for violin 'cello and percussion, New Music for Old Instruments — nissim @ 12:28 am

Hey everyone, Bonjour à tout le monde

A quick little newsletter to announce 2 upcoming shows // Un petit bulletin pour annoncer 2 spectacles imminents

Bridge-and-tunnel New York and the Paris suburbs // “Bridge-and-tunnel” New York et la banlieue

1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1

on January 29 in La Courneuve: // le 29 janvier à La Courneuve :

Alissa Duryée will “pre-premiere” Retouchage from On retouche les nouveaux habits du roi // Alissa Duryée donnera l’avant-première de Retouchage de On retouche les nouveaux habits du roi

for harpsichord solo, probably with live electronics (commissioned by Tami Morse with support from the Minnesota State Arts Board) // pour clavecin seul, probablement avec traitement de son en temps réel (commandée par Tami Morse, avec le soutien du Minnesota State Arts Board)

at La Courneuve Conservatory, salle Erik Satie (best place ever by name to have a concert!) // au CRR de La Courneuve, dans salle Erik Satie (meilleure endroit du monde, en termes de nom, pour faire un concert !)

41 Avenue Gabriel Péri, 93120 La Courneuve, near the RER La Courneuve-Aubervilliers // 41 Avenue Gabriel Péri, 93120 La Courneuve, près du RER La Courneuve-Aubervilliers

Xpm

the map // le plan

2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2.2

February 1 in something like East Williamsburg // le 1e février, quelque part près de East Williamsburg

The awesome Cadillac Moon Ensemble will do the NYC premiere of Trio in its original violin, cello, piano version // Le formidable Cadillac Moon Ensemble fera la création New Yorkaise du Trio dans sa version originale, pour violon, violoncelle, et piano

CME’s website // le site web du CME

At Firehouse Space, 246 Frost Street (Graham Ave on the subway), at 8pm // Au Firehouse Space, 246 Frost Street (Métro Graham Ave) à 20h

the map // le plan

the venue’s website // le site web du lieu

Get a preview at // Pour un avant-goût de la pièce, regardez

(Yes, this is the piece that was reviewed in the Times in June. It’s that good. Go!) // (Oui, c’est la pièce qui a reçu un bon critique dans le New York Times le juin dernier. C’est si bin que ça. Allez !)

GO GO! ALLEZ ! GO GO! ALLEZ ! GO GO! ALLEZ ! GO GO! ALLEZ !

23a0

July 5, 2012

Minnesota Dreaming: Mission Accomplished, but so many more questions to answer

Filed under: harpsichord, 4 preludes for harpsichord for Baroque trio, Il buono, Nuevos Misterios, tales from the creative process, Minnesota Dreaming, New Music for Old Instruments, Baroque violin, viola da gamba, Iowa Dreaming? — nissim @ 8:48 pm

I now have in my possession three CDs that represent the fruits of our two-day recording session. Over the next few months, those three CDs will be cut down to the masters of the contents of a 35-minute CD called New Music for Old Instruments: Works written for Flying Forms by Nissim Schaul, 2006-2009, containing Nuevos Misterios, Prelude and Fantasia, and Four Preludes for Harpsichord, for Baroque Trio.

I also have an All-American scene on July 4th:

All-American scene of farmhouse and cornfields in, I believe, Independence, Iowa from July 4th, 2012

The last take of Tami playing the last measures of the Fantasia was oddly anti-climactic. Maybe because it was a soloist instead of the whole band? I mean, Tulio spent the morning biking around a lake in the insane heat, and, once Marc finished with Nuevos Misterios, he wandered off and took a nap. So it was just me and Peter in the booth and Tami at the harpsichord, left behind while the rest were already frolicking. Or maybe it wasn’t all that monumental a moment because the process really wasn’t that hard. It took a lot of practice beforehand, but Marc, Tami, and Tulio were well-prepared, and Peter kept things moving at an impressive clip without sacrificing quality. If it hadn’t been for the heat, it would have been a really pleasant two-day trip to a beautiful corner of Iowa.

Oh, except for the beady red eyes that unblinkingly greeted us while we recorded Nuevos Misterios.

Loudspeakers, pedals, and preamps greet you with strange beady eyes, especially when placed in front of a harpsichord

Did I mention it was hot? St. Bridget’s isn’t air conditioned. Here’s our collection of empties:

empties from New Music for Old Instruments recording session, July 3-4, 2012, at St. Bridget's Church near Iowa City, IA

I learned a tremendous amount about how to manage a recording session from watching Peter Nothnagle, from how to monitor tracks to how to cut the tension when necessary to how to fix the feedback problems in Nuevos Misterios to when tell the harpsichordist to retune for god’s sake!

Now, I have a lot of decisions to make. I need to decide whether to pick takes myself, or whether to delegate that to Peter. Here’s the consideration: I don’t listen for pitch that carefully, and I’m very inside the music, so I’m likely to pick takes that aren’t particularly technically correct, but the most musically interesting. Or maybe just the closest to how I imagined sonically, which is not necessarily the most musical, especially since “musical” and “in tune” are not really separate concepts. On the other hand, I know the music much better than Peter does, and I know more than he does how I want it to sound. But then, I feel like having an outside ear might really be the best thing - I almost feel unqualified to judge what interpretations of my music are best, since that sort of goes against my musical philosophy, and especially because of that pitch weakness. (There’s a reason I’ve started writing less-pitchy music since 2008/09 - I do it better.)

And once that’s done, we all collectively have to decide what to do with the masters. Do we self-publish or look for a label? Self-publishing might mean more income at concerts and the like. But it also means it’s harder to get reviews than even going through a vanity label. Maybe that’s Ok, since this isn’t the most up-to-date Nissim Schaul. It’s also a lot cheaper up-front to self-publish: we could more or less do it with the money we’ve already raised, and CDBaby and Garage Band provide excellent distribution networks. But then looking at the prestige factor, reviews are nice. It they’re good. Plus, it’d be nice not to have to worry about publicity and distribution. Hmm.

—–

I head back to Paris tomorrow, which means summer is over. But I do think I’ve had enough of summer this week for the next few months… When I get back, I’ll write up some reflections about the recording process and what it’s been like to revisit some old music - both my compositions from a few years ago and, well, really old music, from the 17th century, and the ways in which style and interpretation do and don’t transfer across the divide. Especially as a composer who thinks a lot about “freedom of interpretation,” I’ve learned a lot about what performers bring to the table from going over my older, more concrete scores with musicians used to Baroque music. I like a lot of it, and I don’t like all of it.

July 4, 2012

Iowa Dreaming?

Filed under: prelude and fantasia, patience, harpsichord, 4 preludes for harpsichord for Baroque trio, Il buono, Nuevos Misterios, Minnesota Dreaming, New Music for Old Instruments, Baroque violin, viola da gamba, Iowa Dreaming? 1f70 — nissim @ 7:15 am

Minnesota Dreaming has become Iowa Dreaming, which is to say, the hiatus is over: It’s back to work! Tami, Marc, Tulio, and I drove down yesterday from St. Paul, and this morning we got started recording at the infamous St. Bridget’s Church with Peter Nothnagle.

St. Bridget's Church near Iowa City
St. Bridget's Church was built in 1894

Today was the Baroque trio, and even the insanely difficult third movement went pretty smoothly. If it weren’t for the absurd heat, which led to more harpsichord tuning than you can imagine, and also two replacements-of-gamba-string, it’d have been done even faster. (But one can never underestimate how many times the harpsichord will need to be retuned…)

Marc and Tami also managed to work through about a quarter of Nuevos Misterios. Something else that takes a long time: defeating feedback. Peter was a huge help with this, and now, maybe, the piece can be performed without me riding the levels like a lunatic. Peter also has a good ear for intonation, which is helpful since, evidently, none of the rest of us do…

So, even with a late start tomorrow, we think we’ll finish Nuevos Misterios - and Tami’s solo, Prelude and Fantasia - in time to drive back to St. Paul, and maybe even catch the fireworks!

July 1, 2012

Minnesota Dreaming, Day 4: Day of rest

Filed under: Minnesota Dreaming, New Music for Old Instruments — nissim @ 2:18 am

It’s a slow day. After the concert, there’s not much to say. So I give you the haul from this morning’s farmers market:

white currants and sunflowers from the St. Paul Farmers Market, in front of the Northwestern Building

White (!) currants and sunflowers, in front of the Northwestern Building, home of The Baroque Room

And tomorrow, more rehearsing for the recording…

June 29, 2012

Minnesota Dreaming, Day 3: Concert Tonight!

Filed under: concert announcements, harpsichord, 4 preludes for harpsichord for Baroque trio, Il buono, Minnesota Dreaming, New Music for Old Instruments, Baroque violin, viola da gamba — nissim @ 6:49 pm

[I’m going to try to blog close-to-daily about what’s going on as Flying Forms and I prepare to record New Music for Old Instruments next week. Have a look at Day 1 for a discussion of treble violas da gamba, and Day 2 for The Bacon Trolley and what I do at rehearsals.]

Tonight is the benefit + warm-up concert for New Music for Old Instruments. Tami and Tulio are already be at The Baroque Room practicing. (Further proof of my inutility as the composer: I seem to have been left behind.)

The show is at 8pm, so if you happen to be in the Twin Cities, please come! The Baroque Room is at 275 East 4th Street, Suite 280, in Lowertown, St. Paul. Tickets are available online or at the door - $15/$10 (students, seniors). Proceeds go to the recording fund - publicity, CD manufacturing, etc.

Tami and Marc, and Tulio, went to Minnesota Public Radio a couple of days ago and recorded some bits and pieces of 4 Preludes for Harpsichord for Baroque Trio for Steve Staruch’s afternoon show. It’s now up on MPR Classical’s website, along with an adorable interview with Marc and Tami about why it’s important to have new music for old instruments, etc. Definitely take the 10 minutes to listen to the story. (It’s fund-drive season at MPR this week, so we’re not entirely sure if the program will make it on the air, but if it does, it will be between 3pm and 6pm CDT - live streaming here.)

—

By the way, I need to give the lie to the title of this whole series. It’s hotter here in St. Paul this week than in LA. No need to dream of Cali, the heat is all here. (I guess there’s no beach though, just the Grand Mississippi…) After my childhood in North Carolina, I actually feel completely comfortable right now - but I think I might be the only person in the whole state who is equipped to deal with this weather.

In fact, the current forecast for Iowa City in Monday is 96 degrees. This could be a little problem, since St. Bridget’s is not climate-controlled, and apparently isn’t even a big stone church, and gut strings go out of tune easily. So maybe we’ll push back to Tuesday, when the temperature is expected to drop to, um, 94?

Minnesota Dreaming, Day 2: Walking around St. Paul, letting the players do the hard work 2383

Filed under: prelude and fantasia, patience, harpsichord, 4 preludes for harpsichord for Baroque trio, Il buono, complexity, non-traditional notation, Minnesota Dreaming, New Music for Old Instruments, Baroque violin, viola da gamba — nissim @ 12:22 am

[I’m going to try to blog close-to-daily about what’s going on as Flying Forms and I prepare to record New Music for Old Instruments next week. Have a look at Day 1 for a discussion of treble violas da gamba.]

I’m sequestered again in The Baroque Room’s office while Marc and Tami and Tulio rehearse, this time the 4 Preludes for Harpsichord, for Baroque Trio. I don’t like to talk about the original preludes, which are for harpsichord alone and are intended to sort of be study pieces, because they’re not that good - a bit square and clunky, not at all elegant études. But in arranging them for a professional trio, some good music came out.

They’ve played the first and last movements a few times already, including for a possible radio segment on Minnesota Public Radio - which we’re hoping will turn up online sometime soon. But now they’ve moved on to the inner movements (Finally! I wrote them in 2008!), and particularly the third movement. We all just worked on the second movement together. It’s an unmeasured prelude, which was a challenge to orchestrate because, although there are no fixed rhythms, the harmonies have to line up, but not too tough technically. It took a little while to get all the cues right, but it sounds great - the colors are coming together, and they’re fantastic musicians. (The result of the orchestration is sort of a contemporary figured bass, in which the violinist and the gambist choose which - if any - of several notes from the underlying harmony to play.)

The third movement, though, is probably the most complex piece of music I’ve ever written, certainly the most Ligeti-esque. If I recall correctly, I finished these preludes and their orchestration at about the same time I started Rising, my breakthrough into a quieter and simpler musical language, so this movement is sort of the pinnacle of whatever it was I used to do (and still do plenty of, if slightly differently). There’s a lot of slow-motion music and metronome noise filtering in through the door.

One of the secrets of this whole Composer-Attending-Rehearsals thing, that you may have figured out from my many imposed exiles, is that I have an awful lot of downtime. Today I don’t even have Prelude and Fantasia, I took a walk through Downtown St. Paul. Technical problems = some delay on the slide show, but I leave you here with The Bacon Trolley, good news at MPR studios, and THE MOTHER OF ALL SKYWAYS.

The Bacon Trolley in Downtown St. Paul

The bacon trolley

Yeah, America! (plus MPR)

Yeah, America!

THE MOTHER OF ALL SKYWAYS

THE MOTHER OF ALL SKYWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

June 28, 2012

Minnesota Dreaming, Day 1

Filed under: harpsichord, Nuevos Misterios, Minnesota Dreaming, New Music for Old Instruments, Baroque violin — nissim @ 12:15 am

[So, I’m going to try to blog close-to-daily about what’s going on as Flying Forms and I prepare for recording New Music for Old Instruments next week. This is he first post.]

I got into St. Paul last night, and today is straight into the fire: 95 degree heat (though thanks to jetlag, I got a run in before it got hot out), and rehearsing Nuevos Misterios. Right now, I’m sitting in the office of The Baroque Room listening to Marc and Tami trying to get a particularly nasty passage right. This one was really not nice of my: Marc has to play constantly-shifting 16th note syncopations against Tami’s constant 8th-note pulse, at a fast tempo. It doesn’t give him time to count.

Marc Levine and Tami Morse rehearsing Nuevos Misterios by Nissim Schaul

Oh, right, so far all this rehearsing has been acoustic. But Nuevos Misterios also involves amplifying the Baroque violin and the harpsichord, and processing them through guitar effects pedals. Earlier, I spent a few hours reworking the pedals to make them more, well, obvious. Too many of the processed sounds in the past have failed to sound that much different from the instruments’ natural sounds. This is especially a problem on recordings, where the visual cue of microphones and amplifiers is missing.

But, for the violin part, there wasn’t an extra violin lying around, so Tami provided me with a treble viola da gamba that for some reason was lying around, to approximate the bowed Baroque string sound. I don’t play viols, which are all played between the knees, like a cello. Even the tiny treble. I tried that, but bow control was a real problem. So my working method had to be a little bit unorthodox:

Nissim plays treble viola da gamba under his chin while preparing Nuevos Misterios electronics

(Note how thick that thing is…)

Latest quote form the other room: “Oh, this stuff is so treacherous.” Uh oh. What have I done?!

229a

June 15, 2012

ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmy

Filed under: music reviews, Morton Feldman, Trio for violin 'cello and percussion, oh my god I was reviewed in the Times — nissim @ 7:19 pm

That was about my reaction to discovering that Allan Kozinn had reviewed the piece I had performed at June in Buffalo, the Trio for violin, cello, and percussion, in, as they say, the paper of record. I mean, who even knew he was in town?!!!

I’m not sure what stroke of luck led Mr. Kozinn (I shall accord him the respect he, and the Times style guide, accorded me) to arrive at JiB on Thursday, June 7, and just in time for my piece (he missed the first two pieces on the concert because of “a wayward GPS unit”; mine was third on the program), but when the story was filed, it was an excellent review. He seems to have gotten the piece completely, and also refrained from saying anything bad about it.* Here’s the paragraph:

Nissim Schaul’s Trio for violin, cello and percussion (2010) made its points less noisily [than my colleague, Onur Yıldırım’s piece, Mus i-Zaman] but nearly as powerfully. You could hear a hint of Feldman here. Mr. Schaul’s sounds are spare and whispered, with a dissonant but compelling edge that keeps you fascinated.

You might want to read the whole thing - Kozinn has managed to encapsulate the whole day’s worth of music quite well, including mentions of Onur’s, Jonghee Kang’s, and Nathan Kelly’s music. It was a good concert. And the evening show featured a snake horn that sounded like a Banshee.

Anyway, now I have a dilemma I never really dreamed of: What do you do after being reviewed in the Times? Is it appropriate to write a thank you note? Is it obligatory to write a thank you note? Is it absolutely forbidden to write a thank you note? And that note - if it may be written - should it stick to facts? [redacted] Or is it OK to engage Mr. Kozinn in a broader conversation about my work? [more redaction]

Any thoughts?

————————————————————————

*Unlike one of the faculty composers, who grabbed me during a masterclass and said that he was expressing the general consensus of the faculty in saying that I clearly have a good ear for sonority, but, “Why was it so repetitive?!”

March 27, 2012

concerts à (près de) Paris : le 29 mars et le 3 avril ! le clavecin et la lune (the harpsichord and the moon)

Filed under: my stuff, concert announcements, harpsichord, Il buono, electroacoustic music, electronic music, computer music, harpsichord swirl, open sky empty sky — nissim @ 4:36 pm

Joyeux printemps à tous ! Pour le fêter, j’ai le plaisir d’annoncer 2 concerts près de Paris pendant les semaines prochaines (entrée libre au deux) :

1) le 29 mars à 18h30 : Dans le cadre de la Semaine des arts de l’Université de Paris 8, la création d’une nouvelle œuvre, Harpsichord Swirl, se déroulera. C’est une pièce entièrement électronique, ça veut dire qu’elle est totalement diffusée par haut-parleurs. La source sonore consiste des enregistrements d’un clavecin joué dans plusieurs façons, mais c’est l’environnement sonore qui est clé. Le public sera entouré par 8 haut-parleurs dans une chapelle baroque avec une résonance naturelle de plus que 10 secondes. Autrement dit, ça va prendre du temps pour que chaque son s’éteigne – l’inverse de l’habitude avec le son de clavecin.

Le concert aura lieu au Musée de l’art et d’histoire de St-Denis, à 22 bis avenue Gabriel Péri 93200 Saint-Denis

Accès :
Métro - ligne 13 station : Saint-Denis Porte de Paris (sortie 4)
Bus - 154, 254, 177, 255, 170
Voiture - A1 et A 86 - sortie Saint-Denis Porte de Paris (parking
disponible à Porte de Paris et à Basilique)

Aussi sur le programme sont sept de mes collègues de Paris 8. Le concert ne durera qu’une heure.

Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico by Ansel Adams

2) le 3 avril à 21h00 verra la création d’une autre nouvelle pièce, Open Sky Empty Sky, pour flûte, clarinette, saxophone, percussion, et avec la participation de 3 danseuses. C’est un projet mené par la flûtiste
Géraldine Thébault, et ma pièce est inspirée par la photographie d’Ansel Adams, ainsi que l’expérience personnelle de la majesté du paysage du sud-ouest des Etats-Unis. On verra aussi la création de Micro-Ballet de Julien Malaussena, pour le même ensemble.

Moon and Half Dome Ansel AdamsLe spectacle déroulera au Théâtre de la Commune d’Aubervilliers (une scène nationale !), à 2 rue Edouard Poisson, 93304 Aubervilliers. Pour y venir, sortez du Métro ligne 7 à Aubervilliers-Pantin-Quatre Chemins et puis soit continuez à pied sur l’avenue de la République pour 1 km, soit prendre le bus, nos. 150 ou 170, à l’arrêt « André Karman ». Plus d’infos ici.

Je conseille, comme autre option, de prendre un vélib !

Nous sommes le 3e groupe ; chacun jouera une demi-heure, suivi par une pause de 30 minutes. Donc, si vous voulez soutenir tout le monde, l’arrivée est à 19h.

Voici la jolie affiche “interdite” :

poster cosmoproject April 3, 2012

2315

January 20, 2012

socks & BBs: building piano mutes

Filed under: my stuff, other people's stuff, concert announcements, patience, Il buono, violin, music 10, piano, Something Else (Music for Sleeping through Winter), hibernation, prepared piano, BB-sock mutes — nissim @ 2:15 pm

[English, with ammunition-talk, follows]

Le 27 janvier, Jennifer Lang et Il-Woong Seo vont donner la création française de Something Else (Music for Sleeping through Winter) au Conservatoire de La Courneuve (41 avenue Gabriel Péri,93120 La Courneuve, RER B à La Courneuve-Aubervilliers, puis regardez le plan). Pour l’instant le concert est prévu pour 19h30, mais nous n’avons pas encore fixé l’heure. Donc revenez ici pour confirmer avant la date ! Entrée libre.

J’espère que vous tous pouvez venir !

————————————

On January 27, Jennifer Lang and Il-Woong Seo are going to give the French premiere of Something Else (Music for Sleeping through Winter) at the Conservatoire de La Courneuve (41 avenue Gabriel Péri,93120 La Courneuve, RER B to La Courneuve-Aubervilliers, then look at the map). We haven’t nailed down the start time yet, it’ll probably be either 7:30pm or 8pm. Check back before the date to confirm. Free admission.

I hope y’all can make it!

In the mean time, remember that story about the BBs and tasers? Well, this is the story of how the BBs became piano mutes.

In the end I ordered them online. It was pretty exciting when they showed up so I tore the box open! BB box Nissim Schaul

There’s the bag they came in. Our kitchen scale only goes to 10 kilos, so we got an error message. BB bag on scale Nissim Schaul

Sarah opened the bag: opening the BB bag Nissim Schaul
and this is what was inside: BBs in hands Nissim Schaul

Close-up! close-up of BBs in bag Nissim Schaul

I’m going to take a moment here to mention that I did not invent these sock mutes. That distinction goes to a much greater composer than myself, Stephen Hartke. They produce a sound that’s similar to an upright piano’s mute - a sound I’d been thinking about how to reproduce for years before I heard these things in action at MusicX during the summer of 2010.

Also, while giving credit where it is due, see Jennifer Jolley’s take on the same process from about a year ago…

So anyway, now the real fun began. You have to fill the socks with 4 pounds of BBs each (~1.83 kg), and then sew the socks shut. This was the basic set-up for filling the socks: set up for filling the socks with BBs - sock on scale with cup of BBs. Nissim Schaul

Part-way full: sock part-full of BBs Nissim Schaul

One full sock mute! sock on scale full o' BBs Nissim Schaul

After all six mutes were full six socks full of BBs Nissim Schaul
it was time to sew them shut. Magically, just a few days before, a sewing machine showed up in our house, making this process much easier. Sarah showed me how to use it: sewing the BB-socks shut sewing machine demonstration Nissim Schaul

And I somehow managed to only break the machine a few times while sewing the rest of the socks shut: Nissim Schaul sewing the BB-sock piano mutes shut

I ain’t sayin’ the stitching’s any good:badly sewn stitches on BB-sock mute Nissim Schauls

But it’ll do the job.

BB-sock mutes in a heap! Nissim Schaul
BB-sock mutes all in a row! Nissim Schaul

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