The Music of James Tenney: Volume 1: Contexts and Paradigms

Contents

• Preface xi
• Conventions and Abbreviations xv
• 1. Introduction 1
• 1.1. A Summary Chronology 3
• 1.2. Aesthetic and Methodological Bases: Music in Sound 10
• 2. Early Works and Influences (1934-59) 18
• 2.1. Stan Brakhage and Interim (1952) 19
• 2.2. Manhattan and Meeting Carolee Schneemann 21
• 2.3. Lionel Nowak, Carl Ruggles, and Charles Ives's Concord Sonata 23
• 2.4. Seeds (1956/1961) 25
• 3. Tape Music and "Meta/-Hodos" (1959-61) 31
• 3.1. Lejaren Hiller and Harry Partch 31
• 3.2. The University of Illinois Electronic Music Studio 32
• 3.3. Collage #1 ("Blue Suede") (1961) 34
• 3.4. "Meta/-Hodos" (1961) 41
• 4. Computer Music and Ergodicity (1961-64) 48
• 4.1. Edgard Var se, D'Arcy Thompson, and "Growth to Form" 51
• 4.2. John Cage, Variety, and Ergodicity 54
• 4.3. Max Mathews and MUSIC 59
• 4.4. The Acoustic Correlates of Timbre 62
• 4.5. Algorithmic Composition 63
• 4.6. Analog #1 (Noise Study) (1961) 68
• 4.7. Phases (1963) 76
• 5. Performance and the Social (1964-68) 83
• 5.1. Downtown in the 1960s 83
• 5.2. Tone Roads and an American Experimental Tradition 86
• 5.3. Fluxus and Friends 89
• 5.4. Carolee Schneemann, Antonin Artaud, Wilhelm Reich 93
• 5.5. Choreogram (1964) 97
• 5.6. Fabric for Che (1967) 101
• 6. Process and Continuity (1969-71) 110
• 6.1. Gradual Processes 112
• 6.2. For Ann (rising) (1969) 118
• 6.3. Postal Pieces (1965-71) 124
• 7. Interlude: Harmonic Theory 135
• 7.1. The Meaning of Harmony 137
• 7.2. The Harmonic Series 140
• 7.3. Interval Tolerance and "The Language of Ratios" 144
• 7.4. A History of Consonance and Dissonance 147
• 7.5. Roughness and Beating (CDC-5) 148
• 7.6. Toneness and Harmonicity (CDC-2) 149
• 7.7. Harmonic Space (CDC-1) 155
• 7.8. Harmonic Measures and Their Applications 165
• 8. Canons and the Harmonic Series (1972-79) 169
• 8.1. The Harmonic-Series Music 170
• 8.2. Clang (1972) 172
• 8.3. Spectral CANON for CONLON Nancarrow (1974) 176
• 8.4. Harmonium #1 (1976) 183
• 8.5. Three Indigenous Songs (1979) 189
• 9. Harmonic Spaces (1980-85) 193
• 9.1. The Harmonic-Space Music 193
• 9.2. Harmonium #3 (1980) 195
• 9.3. Bridge (1984) 199
• 9.4. Koan for String Quartet (1984) 216
• 10. Transition and Tradition (1986-94) 224
• 10.1. Critical Band (1988) 225
• 10.2. Flocking (1993) 231
• 11. Spectra and Diaphony (1994-2006) 237
• 11.1. Dissonant Counterpoint and Statistical Feedback 237
• 11.2. In a Large, . . . (1994-95) 241
• 11.3. Diaphonic Study (1997) 246
• 11.4. Arbor Vitae (2006) 250
• 12. A Tradition of Experimentation 259
• Appendix A. Acoustics, Sensation, and Logarithmic Models 261
• Appendix B. Spectrographic Analysis 265
• Notes 271
• References 301
• Index 315