, . . . . . . . . . . d i g a p h o b i a ______________________________________________________________________________. walter carlos switched on bach ______________________________________________________________________________. .date Nov-21-2003 .style Classical .label Columbia .cat.no. MS 7197 .source Vinyl .type Album .quality 224kbps 44.1hz Joint-Stereo .size 64,3 MB ______________________________________________________________________________. Electronic Realizations and Performances by Walter Carlos with the assistance of Benjamin Folkman Stereo MS 7194 SWITCHED-ON BACH Side 1 SINFONIA TO CANTATA NO. 29 (3 20) AIR ON A G STRING (2:27) TWO-PART INVENTION IN F MAJOR (:+o) TWO-PART INVENTION IN B-FLAT MAJOR (r:3o) TWO-PART INVENTION IN D MINOR (:ss) JESU, JOY OF MAN'S DESIRING (z.s6) PRELUDE AND FUGUE NO. 7 IN E-FLAT MAJOR (7:07) (from Book I of "The Well-Tempered Clavier") Side 2 PRELUDE AND FUGUE NO. I IN C MINOR (2:43) (from Book I of "The Well-Tempered Clavier") CHORALE PRELUDE "WACHET AUF" (3:37) EP.ANDENBURG CONCERTO NO. 3 IN G MAJOR First Movement (6:33) Second Movement (2:so) Third Movement (s:os) The selections are in the public domain. BACH A LA MOOG In 1782, Mozart arranged a number of Bach fugues for string trio. Since then, many great virtuosos and composers have been sufficiently fascinated by Bach to take time out from their main pursuits to transcribe his music. Bach's works have thus always exerted a continuous magnetic attraction on musicians, and even today they repeatedly return to the study of his art to learn more about their own art. It is only natural, then, that today's electronic composers have continued this tradition. On the face of it, electronic music has a great deal to offer to Bach: Many baroque characteristics, such as crisp, bright sonorities, terraced dynamics, and high relief of voices, are among the most idiomatic features of electronic music. (Indeed, no combination of live instruments could achieve the clarity of texture of this recording. At last, every note and line can be heard, which was one of our chief purposes when we first began to work on Bach.) But, of course, there is more to Bach than clarity. Two years ago, this album could not have been made. With the equipment then available, to obtain the qualities that make up a good performance was a thankless, time-consuming, and ultimately futile enterprise. Even rudimentary phrasing, articulation, or modulation of timbre could involve many gruelling hours for the pro duction of mere seconds of music. Crescendo and diminuendo, the two most natural vocal or instrumental means of musical expres cion, required the most calculated and laborious manipulation of volume controls and filters. Even programmed or computerized at tempts to automate "spontaneity" were entirely a matter of guess v,ork, and the musician was unable even to hear, much less to modify, a sound as it was being produced. Only the least sophis ticated means of expression, i.e. timbral and dynamic contrasts, could be controlled satisfactorily. These and other limitations were evident any time an electronic composition contained a line at all instrumental in nature. It was at this impasse that Walter Carlos implored Bob Moog, the originator of the commercially packaged synthesizer, to work with him in evolving new subsystems with which the production of more sophisticated nuances of expression would be a practical matter. The modified synthesizer resulting from their collaboration was a musical instrument. Like any musical instrument, it has extraordinary capabilities and maddening limitations. Playing it beautifully requires as much skill, practice, talent and taste as playing any instrument beautifully, plus the need of a composer's ear for new and different sounds. Often two pairs of hands and several feet are needed to take advantage of all that the Moog Syn thesizer can do, but the instrument is constantly being improved. This album, then, is a proving ground both for the synthesizer and for our collaborative musicianship. We have tried to make our performances musically expressive, electronically idiomatic, and spiritually and musicologically faithful to Bach-conditions probably not totally reconcilable. Some sounds took hours to perfect; others were built and then regretfully abandoned; sometimes we had to choose between technique and spirit; sometimes the historically correct ornamentation didn't "sound"; many sessions were spent re-thinking, retouching, re-mixing, rejecting. But at last we achieved results that we feel have musical validity. Through all these difficulties, Bach's great works were an ever-renewing inspiration to us, so it is with a sense of deep humility. that we present them to you in electronic garb. Fittingly, this record begins with a transcription of a transcription. The Sinfonia from Cantata No. 29 is a miraculous elaboration on the Praeludium from the E-Major Partita for Solo Violin. Bach transposed the work down a tone, transferred it note-for-note to the organ, and then added three trumpets, tympani, strings and oboes, transforming its mood from lighthearted cheer to triumphant affirmation. The Chorale Prelude "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" concludes both halves of Bach's Cantata No. 147 for the Feast of the Visitation. The string figuration-long, flowing, and pleasantly ambiguous in phrase structure-nevertheless adapts itself brilliantly to the regularity of the chorale tune. Bach's Inventions were intended not only as teaching pieces for the young player, but also as models in composition. Composers of any century might well envy the extraordinary ingenuity of the stretto in the B-Flat Invention. Included-here are the three Two-Part Inventions in F Major, B-Flat Major, and D Minor. In place of August Wilhelmj's once-famous solo violin arrangement (on the G string) of the Air for Strings and Continuo from he 'uite in D Major, we offer our study in reed tone, which shows that the lower voices are at least as important as the famous melody. This realization contains the subtlest sounds on the album, and is dedicated to the memory of Marcel Tabuteau, for years the great solo oboist of the Philade.pliia Orchestra. The Prelude in E-Flat Major ,v;ell-Tempered Clavier I, 7) is actually a gigantic introduction an,: double fugue, with the theme of the introduction reappearing as the second subject of the fugue. Words cannot convey the titanic, cumulative effect of the work. Many critics have objected to the perky good humor of the Fugue proper (three voices) as inappropriate after the grave majesty of the Prelude. Actually, it is a perfect foil to its predecessor, as welcome as Trinculo after Prospero. The Prelude in C Minor (Well-Tempered Clavier 1, 2) is an object lesson in how Bach touches an artistic convention with genius. For three-quarters of its length, it behaves like any "arpeggio" prelude, content to make its effect through the building momentum of its characteristic figure. Then, just as it has reached an impressive climax, things go awry: The bottom voice seizes the floor for an angry solo, the characteristic theme flies into a tailspin, and a passionate recitative is required to restore order. The Fugue (three voices) is notable for the long sixteenth-note scale passages that give it special urgency. The Chorale Prelude "Wachet auf, ruff uns die Stimme" appears in Cantata No. 140, which is a retelling of the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins. The tenors of the chorus dovetail the archaic, irregular Chorale Melody by Phillipp Nicolai into the almost quadrangularly symmetrical line of the upper strings. This is another work that Bach transcribed for organ. The Third "Brandenburg" is one of the portfolio of six highly varied concerti grossi that failed to get Bach a job with the Mar grave of Brandenburg. Three violins, three violas, three cellos, and bass, along with the ubiquitous continuo, mass together into a fair-sized baroque orchestra. More often than not, however, they split up Into solo groups or venture forth as soloists, with fas cinating results. The first third of the first movement is an exhaus live discussion of the opening tutti. The remainder is a remarkable study in contrast, as a querulous second theme keeps intruding and getting shouted down, until the cellos and bass at last Invert it, turn it into a nightmare, and exorcise it. COLUMBIA Bach provided no second movement other than a "Phrygian" Cadence: Obviously he expected the continuo player to improvise a cadenza leading up to it, thus giving the listener a rest from string tone. Our improvisation is a fantasia after Bach's most florid and chromatic style, and incorporates a number of virtuoso electronic effects not heard elsewhere in the album. The last movement is much less complex than the first. It is a good-humored, bumptious dance with lots of exuberance and sparkling first violin and first viola solos. Hew Bach managed to preserve the "sound" of the first movement here with such a lighter texture is a secret he shares with only the greatest masters. -Benjamin Folkman Electronic music began as an aesthetic experiment in which early electronic music composers allowed the basic processes and simple materials of "classical" electronic composition to dictate the form as well as the content of their music. Today, despite the availability of sophisticated equipment for the electronic production of music, few musicians have taken the trouble to develop the combination of technical expertise, aesthetic discretion, and manual dexterity that is generally associates: with a professional performance of traditional music. Walter Carlos' realizations contained in this album are a dazzling display of virtuosity in the electronic medium. But Carlos has clearly gone beyond mere virtuosity. He has shown that the medium of electronic music is eminently suited to the realization of much traditional music, and in doing so has firmly brought the electronic medium into the historical mainstream of music This album is the most stunning breakthrough in electronic music to date. -Robert Moog THE BIRTH OF AN IDEA About a year ago, Walter Carlos asked me to listen to several of his electronic compositions and realizations, which encompassed his experiments from 1957 and his subsequent collaborations with Ben Folkman that started at the Columbia-Princeton Music Center in 1964-65. One of the tapes I heard contained the charming performance of the Invention in F, included in this album. This completely electronic realization seemed so right and natural that we immediately made plans for a whole album of "electronic Bach." Then, a few months later, the first movement of the Brandenburg No. 3 was finished. It exceeded my already high expectations. Excitedly, I called my good friend Ettore Stratta, at Columbia Records, who generously spread his enthusiasm throughout the rest of the company. The album was completed with the guidance of Mr. Stratta and also of Mr. Paul Myers, of the Columbia Masterworks Department, who kindly allowed us complete artistic freedom in the production and realization of this album. It would perhaps be presumptuous of me to claim too large a role in a project developed and realized by the genius of Walter Carlos-composer, virtuoso performer and symbiotic musician/ technician-and his dear friend and collaborator Benjamin Folkman-musician/musicologist extraordinaire, whose special insight into the nuances of great performance was an ipvaluable contribution to the artistry heard on this album. It is a respectful amalgam of old and new that leads into a most hopeful and interesting musical future. I know you will share my enthusiasm --Rachel Elkind for This album was devised and produced by %10.rTrans-Electronic-Music Productions, Inc. Special thanks to Mary, Hilda and Florence Library o) C--911" catalog '-d --d- --d- b R66-3sle apphca ,a -%" i-'r. COLUMBIA STEREO RECORDS CAN BE PLAYED ON TODAY'S MONO RECORD PLAYERS WITH EXCELLENT RESULTS. THEY WILL LAST AS LONG. AS MONO RECORDS PLAYED ON THE SAME EQUIPMENT, YET' WILL REVEAL FULL STEREO SOUND WHEN PLAYED ON STEREO RECORD PLANERS. ,__ -- ., ' r,a òò!',.h,,..hia " Vi ".t.Hernork,." t.tar:is Reg- Printed in U.S.A. 6a 1 ______________________________________________________________________________. . ░ ░░ ▒░░░░▓▓ ███████████ ▓▒░▒░░ ███████▀▀▀ ▀ ▀▀ ▀ ▀ . ▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ██████▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ██████▀▄▓███████████ :░░ ▒ ░ █████████████████ █████████████████ ▒███████████████▄▀ ░ ░ ░░ █████████████████ █████████████████ ███████▀▀█████████ ░░ ░ ░░ ░ ▒ ░ ▄▄█▄██████ █████ ▄▄█▄██████ ████ ▄▄█▄████ ▒'████████ ░░ ▒░▒ ░ ░ ▒░░ ░░ ██████████ ░████ █████████▀ ░ ████ ████████.▓ ████████ ▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░▒░ ░░ ██████████ ░ ████ █████████▀ ░ ████ █████████▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ░▒░▒▓▒▒▒░▒░▒░ ░ ░ ▀█████████ ▒ ████ █████████▀ ░ ████ ▒█████████████▒▄ ▒░▓▒▓▓ ▒▓ ▓▒▓▒▓ ░░ ▒ ▀█████████ ░ ████ ██████████ ▒ ████▄▄ ▀▒█████████████▒ ▒▓▒ ▒▓▒ ▓▒▓ ▒░ ░ ▀█████████ ▒ ████ ██████████ ░ ████▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀██████████ ▓▒ ▒ ▒ ▒▓ ▓▒ ░░░ ▀█████████ ▓ ████ ██████████ ▓ ████ ███████ ▒'█████████ ▒ ▄▓ ▒ ▒ ▒▓ ▒░ ░▒░ ██████████ :████ ██████████ ▓ ████ ███████ ▓ █████████ ▓█▓▀ ▀▓█▓ ▓▒▓ ▓░▒▒░▒ ███████████▄█████ ███████████.▒████ ████████▄▄█████████ ███ █ ██ ▄ ▒ ▒ ▓▓░░░ ▒████████████████ ██████████▀██████ ▀▒███████████████▒▀ █▀ ██ ▀ ▓█▓ ░▓▒ ..▄▄░█████████▀████ ██████████'▄▀█████▄▄▀▀███████████▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▀▄ ██████████ ▀▄ digaphobia ██████████ peace to music lovers everywhere ▀. public ██████████ greetings ▀. sound ██████████ diss jce sfe om : █████▀████ gem emp mbs sour pulse : ███████▀██ rks kw ube..and you! . ██▄███████ _______________ ▀██▀█ ▀██ ▀▀ ▀ █▀██ go to the show ▀█ ▀ ██ buy the t-shirt ██ ▀ ▀█ ▄ order the vinyl ▀ ▄ ▀ ▀ _______________ ██▀ █▄█ ▄ ██ █ ▀ ▀ ▄