Instead of working with discrepancies, as in “polystylism” for instance, Goldmann seeked interactions and integrations of techniques and material. This approach aims at developing an “objective” musical language by re-evaluating earlier techniques with advanced knowledge, and measuring new methods by the standards set by historical techniques that stood the test of time.
Born on April 27, 1941 in Chemnitz, Goldmann’s music education began in 1951 when he joined the Dresden Kreuzchor.
At age 18, he was awarded a scholarship by the City of Darmstadt to study with Karlheinz Stockhausen (Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik, 1959), who further encouraged him over the following years. He moved on to study composition at the Dresden Conservatory from 1959, taking his exam in 1962. From 1962 until 1964 he attended master class at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin with Rudolph Wagner-Régeny. Around this time, he worked as a freelance music assistant at the Berliner Ensemble where he befriended other composers, writers and directors, including Heiner Müller, Luigi Nono, Ruth Berghaus and BK Tragelehn. He also met Paul Dessau, who became a close friend and mentor. From 1964 until 1968, he studied musicology at Humboldt University of Berlin. Thereafter he worked as a freelance composer and conductor, and continued writing for theatre productions as well as scoring several DEFA movies.
His oeuvre includes numerous chamber works, four sinfonies, several solo concertos (for piano, oboe, trombone and violin) and orchestral works as well as the opera “R.Hot bzw. Die Hitze”. Major commissions include works for the Berliner Philharmoniker, Ensemble Modern, Arditti Quartet, Staatskapelle Berlin, Scharoun Ensemble, Wittener Tage, several works for Konzerthaus Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Semperoper and Staatskapelle Dresden, the 20th anniversary celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Expo 2000 in Hannover, the 425th anniversary of the Saxonian State Library in Dresden, and the Pélerinages Festival in Weimar. Friedrich Goldmann has received numerous awards, including the Hanns-Eisler-Preis, Nationalpreis and Kunstpreis.
As a conductor, he worked with several orchestras and ensembles (including Berliner Philharmoniker [CD: Stockhausen "Gruppen", Deutsche Grammophon], Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Berlin [incl. Schönberg's "Moses und Aron", staged by Ruth Berghaus, 1987], SWR Sinfonieorchester, Gruppe Neue Musik “Hanns Eisler” and Scharoun Ensemble) and performed all over Europe, Russia, USA, Japan and South Korea. He had a close working relationship with Ensemble Modern from the very first days of the ensemble’s formation. Their collaborations included a tour of Russia, the French and German premieres of Luigi Nono’s “Prometeo”, as well as regular performances and recordings of Goldmann’s own works.
Since 1988 he was the principal conductor of the Boris Blacher Ensemble in Berlin (now renamed to Ensemble Mosaik). Recordings of his and other composers’ music (Wolfgang Rihm, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Hans Werner Henze) have been released by Nova, Wergo, Deutsche Grammophon, Academy, Edel Classics, BMG, RCA and other labels. In the mid 90s, he was forced to quit conducting due to health reasons. Other conductors who have performed his works include Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim, Peter Eötvös, Michael Gielen, Sir Mark Elder, Ernest Bour, Kurt Masur and Ingo Metzmacher.
From 1980 until 1991, he taught master classes at Berlin’s Akademie der Künste. In 1991 he became a professor of composition at the Hochschule der Künste, Berlin (now Universität der Künste). There, he headed the Institute for New Music from 2003 until 2005. Friedrich Goldmann also held master classes in Seoul (South Korea), Los Angeles (USA) and Tokyo (Japan).
Among his students were Enno Poppe, Helmut Oehring, Nicolaus Richter de Vroe, Steffen Schleiermacher, Chatschatur Kanajan, Arnulf Herrmann, Johannes Wallmann, Charlotte Seither, Jakob Ullmann, Paul Frick and Sergej Newski. He was a member of the Academies of Fine Arts of Berlin and Dresden, the German-French Cultural Council, and Deutscher Musikrat. From 1990 until 1997 he was president of the German section of the International Society of Contemporary Music (ISCM).
Friedrich Goldmann died in Berlin on July 24th, 2009, at age 68. His grave is located at Berlin’s Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof. Currently most of his autograph scores are located at the archive of Berlin’s Akademie der Künste (Friedrich Goldmann Archiv).
Oeuvre: Friedrich Goldmann’s oeuvre can be differentiated roughly by three creative periods. The official oeuvre starts around 1963 and develops until the beginning of the 1970s in several stage musics as well as chamber music and three “Essays” for orchestra. In these works he initially employed serialist and cluster techniques. Around 1969 Goldmann entered a phase in which he developed a technique of appropriating traditional musical forms (such as sonata, symphony, string quartet, etc.) and “breaking them open from within”, thereby changing their impact and meaning. This allows for highlighting the breaking points as well as integrating new musical material. Important examples of this phase are Symphonies 1 and 2 (1971 and 1976). Since the end of the 1970s a new tendency evolved that would dominate his third creative period, especially since the late 1990s: autonomous, “absolute” composition that integrates all possibilities of contemporary classical music...
A perambulation of the two counties with notices of their history and their ancient buildings, by M. R. James. O.M., LITT.D., F.B.A., F.S.A. Provost of Eton.
In compiling this book I have made use largely of my own notes, taken at various times during the last fifty years, and considerably supplemented for the present purpose. But I do not pretend not to have drawn upon other people’s work.
Guide-books, in particular the Little Guides, have been most useful and the Transactions of the Archaeological Societies of the two counties, though these I have not consulted as much as I might have done.
My debts to Blomefield’s Norfolk and to Clement Ingleby’s Supplement thereto are evident; but a very special acknowledgement is due to Mr. H. R. Barker, of the Bury Museum, for his excellent gazetteer, as it may be called, of Suffolk, published at Bury in 1907-9 in two divisions, for West and East Suffolk; it contains photographs of every church in the county, and a succinct description of each parish. It has been invaluable to me, and often have I wished that someone in Norfolk had carried out a similar survey of that county.
Other books that have helped me find mention in my text: there, too, I have tried to show my consciousness that much is wanting. Still, I believe that there are an appreciable number of facts newly recorded, and many newly brought together here. I have many early associations which endear these two great counties to me, and the attempt to expound some of their manifold attractions to those who live in them and those who visit them has been a very pleasant task.
John Hillaby (July 24, 1917 - October 10, 1996), British travel writer and explorer, died at the aged of 79.
Hillaby was the son of a Yorkshire printer. He was educated at Woodhouse Grove School, Leeds. He embarked on a career in journalism, interrupted by service in the Second World War. After the war he worked for the Manchester Guardian, the New York Times and the New Scientist.
He published his first book, Within the Stream, in 1949. His real impact on the literary scene came in 1964, when he published Journey to the Jade Sea, an account of his 1,000 mile walk with a camel train through northern Kenya to Lake Turkana. The book set the pattern for his later books, Journey Through Britain (1968), an account of his walk from Land's End to John o' Groats, Journey Through Europe (1972) and Journey Through Love (1976).
His earlier journeys were always alone, but after he married Kathleen Burton (also a great walker) in 1981 the two travelled together. She featured in his later books, Journey Home (1983), John Hillaby's Yorkshire (1986), John Hillaby's London (1987) and Journey to the Gods (1991).
From his writing, I imagine that John Hillaby would make the perfect walking companion. He is well spoken and straightforward, learned and curious. He has a gentle sensitivity for his surroundings and a taste for adventure, coupled with the honesty to admit to fatigue, self-doubt, and crankiness. He has all the qualities that would intensify the pleasure of a walk while remaining erringly human, and humble enough to acknowledge the fact.
His prose style carries a marvelous economy, where even passages that attain considerable lyricism read as unassuming reactions, the simplest means of conveying the extraordinary:
"Tremendous landslides have choked the floor of the glen with large, irregular blocks of rock that glint with mica. No trees. No grass. Only rocks sculptured by fire and ice. In places they are piled high, one above the other in chaotic architectural form as though, during a violent spasm, a cathedral had collapsed. This is Glen Dessary, a rift in the edge of Lochaber. 'Daysary', the sheep-gatherers say, lingering on that last syllable of desolation, as though it betokened the end of the world".
Passages like this one are intermingled with down-to-earth narrative, digressions on regional dialects or pre-historic civilizations, and descriptions of the geological and biological landscape whose matter-of-factness belie Hillaby's well-studied and sensitive eye. The various elements are thrown together with a casual ease that gives the book a gentle rhythm, like a boat rocking on the swell:
Walk walk walk description walk walk digression walk walk moment-of-heartbreaking-beauty walk walk digression walk walk description walk walk walk. The rhythm is infectious, hypnotic. The book is so simple, and yet so beautiful, so hard to put down.
Photographs by Tim Stephens (Folio Society).
Despite Hillaby's distinctive voice, he retains a sense of objectivity through humility.
He passes his knowledge on to us as a casual guide, remarking on matters of interest as if he were commenting on the weather, and suggesting further reading like a friend pulling books off his shelf for our perusal.
And yet, there is no pretense to omniscience: we sense that he is learning this stuff as he goes along, and that we could too, should we so choose.
Likewise with the logistics of the hike itself. Things go wrong for Hillaby quite frequently, and while his misfortunes sometimes become a source of humor, he isn't ashamed to tell us that sometimes he is miserable, sometimes he doubts himself, sometimes he is tempted to accept the offer of a ride. But these confessions never take on the form of bravado: if anything, Hillaby understates the challenges he faces. There is no doubt that the hike is difficult, but he isn't so boastful as to complain about his hardship.
Modern travel literature generally aims at simplicity, with the naïve humor of misadventure jovially thrown in. Hillaby's account is one of the masterpieces of the genre, achieving sublime effects without a trace of pretension. He puts to shame the derring-do and studied humor of the Bill Brysons of travel literature, whose ego and forced bombast leaps out of every page. Hillaby doesn't force the excitement of his adventure on us but rather gently narrates, allowing us to discover the excitement for ourselves. - David Egan.
Welcome to the third in a series of musical snap-shots, entitled: La Musique des Sons. Unable or unwilling to expand on the whys and what-fors of a particular artist/project, etc, two for one seemed like the way to go. Less is in no way more, but maybe less is enough.
Travelling the musical landscape from the Psychedelic Folk-Rock of Livonia, Michigan - To the Experimental Dubstep of London, England. Or words to that effect.
First up is His Name Is Alive, followed by Various Production. Enjoy...
His Name Is Alive are a difficult band to describe. I became aware of Warren Defever and his HNIA project, from the 4AD released Livonia, onwards. I consider it would be reasonable to assume that this was the entry point for the majority of HNIA fans. The 90's saw the then controversial Americanisation of 4AD. Laughable now, as The Breeders, Red House Painters, Throwing Muses and Pixies, are as much a part of 4AD's history as they are part of the general musical landscape.
Having come from where I'd come from and listened to what I'd listened to, HNIA seemed to come from another place altogether. Much more-so than the previous bands mentioned. Other-worldly, in many ways. Which in fact, is the most adequate/inadequate way I have of describing their musical out-put, before, during and after the 4AD years. Although there have been numerous line-up changes, with only Warren as the common thread, this otherworldliness remains.
Back in 1993 my wife and I attended the 4AD/ICA event The 13 Year Itch. HNIA had played on the second night, of this six day event. We attended the fifth night, so as to see/hear The Breeders and The Wolfgang Press. However, much to our surprise, Warren appeared, with acoustic guitar strung around his neck, throughout the evening, as a kind of impromptu host, introducing the bands and offering up non sequiturs. The guitar was never played.
What follows is Heather Phares excellent overview for allmusic.com. Heather's article finishes in 2005; a comprehensive, yet incomplete discography brings you a little further along. A more up-to-date (yet still incomplete) discography is provided, as well as links to many of Warren's other interests, and the timeSTEREO website.
Named after history class notes on Abraham Lincoln, the Livonia, MI-based sonic manipulators His Name Is Alive formed when multi-instrumentalist/producer Warren Defever (also of shockabilly group Elvis Hitler) was still in high school. Defever, former schoolmate Karin Oliver (vocals), and drummer Damian Lang released self-produced cassettes of their music, one of which made its way to Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the pioneering art label 4AD. Intrigued with His Name Is Alive's blend of spectral vocals, poetic lyrics, and textural guitars, Watts signed the band.
The group recorded its first release for the label, Livonia, in Defever's home studio. The album features Oliver's shivery vocals along with tape loops, samples, and guitar blasts, for a noise-damaged, ethereal collection of songs about ghosts, reincarnation, and dreams. By 1992's Home Is in Your Head, the band's lineup and scope expanded. New singers Denise James, Karen Neal, Melissa Elliott, and guitarist Jymn Auge added depth and breadth to the band's original lineup. An epic 23 songs long, Home Is in Your Head ranges from folky ballads to electrifying guitar maelstroms and tape collages. That year also saw the release of The Dirt Eaters EP, named for Defever's other, more rock-oriented group, of which Elliot was also a member. In 1993, His Name Is Alive released two albums: King of Sweet, a limited-edition release that mixed tape effects, samples, demos, and unreleased songs, and Mouth by Mouth, which added more pop structure into the group's inherently experimental and dreamy sound, resulting in its most accessible and diverse album to that date. A new drummer, Trey Many, took over Lang's duties.
As Defever's reputation as an innovative producer spread, he lent his skills to bands like Grenadine, a side project of Tsunami's Jenny Toomey and Unrest's Mark Robinson, other 4AD acts like Liquorice (which featured Toomey, Dan Littleton from Ida, and His Name Is Alive's Many) and Tarnation, and other Detroit-area bands like Godzuki and Outrageous Cherry. Defever also worked on other projects, including the folky ESP Summer (with former Pale Saint Ian Masters) and the electronic Robot World and Control Panel, and founded the Time Stereo art collective with a childhood friend, artist/musician Davin Brainard. Some of Time Stereo's projects included films, coloring books, and cassette-only releases from bands like Princess Dragon Mom, the Crash, Godzuki, New Grape, and Noise Camp.
Defever's diverse interests influenced His Name Is Alive's next release, 1996's Stars on ESP. Very little of the group's original ethereal sound remained, augmented instead with touches of dub, folk, gospel, and early- to mid-'60s pop like the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. At the time of the album's release, Defever claimed that he was so fascinated by the group's "Good Vibrations" that he listened to it for months at a time. The following year's Nice Day EP reached to garage rock and '60s R&B for its inspiration, and featured some of the gospel singers from Stars on ESP, including Lovetta Pippen, whose singing also gave His Name Is Alive's 1998 LP, Fort Lake, an earthy sensuality. Fort Lake also marked the first time the band worked with another producer, recording engineer Steve King. King, another Livonia native, had also worked with Funkadelic and Aretha Franklin, and his touch meshes nicely with the funk, soul, and classic rock allusions His Name Is Alive makes on the album. In preparation for recording Fort Lake -- named after a waterlogged Civil War fort in Michigan -- the group played monthly shows at the Gold Dollar, a tiny Detroit club. At this time, Pippen, bassist Chad Gilchrist, and additional drummer Scott Goldstein debuted as part of the new lineup.
In 1999, His Name Is Alive released a U.S. compilation of tracks from their first five albums called Always Stay Sweet; at the time, those albums were only available as British imports. Like the rest of the band's work, the compilation highlights their mercurial, unique nature. Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth appeared two years later. Released in 2002, the darkly soulful Last Night ended up being the group's final album for 4AD, but His Name Is Alive found other outlets for their music, and were actually busier than ever... Read on.
Discography, albums: Livonia (1990) (4AD), Home Is in Your Head (1991) (4AD), Mouth by Mouth (1993) (4AD), Stars on ESP (1996) (4AD), Ft. Lake (1998) (4AD), Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth (2001) (4AD), Last Night (2002) (4AD), Detrola (2006) (Silver Mountain/ Sony BMG), XMMER (2007) (Silver Mountain/ Sony BMG), Sweet Earth Flower (2007) (High Two), The Eclipse (2010) (Silver Mountain Media), Silver Family (2012) (Silver Mountain Media), Silver Dragon (2012) (Silver Mountain Media).
Singles & EPs: The Dirt Eaters EP (1992) (4AD), Universal Frequencies EP (1996) (4AD), Nice Day EP (1997) (4AD), Melody Farm EP [split with Little Princess] (1997) (Shaolin Temple/timeSTEREO), Pets Farm EP [split with Little Princess] (1997) (Motorway/timeSTEREO), Drugs Farm EP [split with Little Princess] (1998) (Rocket Science / timeSTEREO), Woodstock/Mothers Day" 7" included with LP of Fort Lake (1998) (4AD), Can't Always Be Loved (1998) (4AD), Happy Blues / One Year (2001) (4AD), Nothing Special (2001) (4AD), Raindrops Rainbow EP (2005) (Silver Mountain Media), Silver Makeup EP (2007) (Silver Mountain Media), Firefly Dragonfly (2007) (Acuarela Discos), Dream Rememberer (2010) (Silver Mountain Media).
Dubstep is a difficult genre to describe. It encompasses and combines many different genres, as any decent genre should. However, I'm often disappointed to see it so easily dismissed by so-called intelligent and musically experienced individuals, as thoughtless dance music.
Well, that's some sweeping generalisation there. This is clearly not the case, so why people would go out of their way to appear to revel in their own self imposed ignorance, is beyond me.
Akin to a Daily Mail reader tilting their head slightly to absorb and critique the emerging neu music of the late 70's. As they say in Yorkshire; Think On.
So, what do Various Production bring to the Dubstep table? Over start/stop skittering yet hypnotic rhythms, they often evoke a ghost like, haunting melancholy. I find this a very pleasing combination. What I also find pleasing is their corporate ID, for want of a better term, their audio/visual work and their apparent desire to go under the radar. Every once in a while they find favour beyond those in the know, such as the interest surrounding their track Hater. But for the most part, they stay hidden. Lets try and find them...
The call came late one night – me, on the couch, Dusted Impresario Otis Hart at home on his computer. "Ever heard of Various Production?" blinked the IM.
"Not a peep," I shot back.
"They're pretty big into being anonymous. The records are amazing. No one knows anything about them. Think you can do a piece on them?" he asked.
"Sure," I said. "No problem." Readers take note: this is not the first time I have regretted my own words.
The next day I was in possession of three 7”s and two 12”s, all attributed to this Various Production collective/label/group with little information outside of catalogue numbers and track titles. The music didn't give any more clues. As I spun through them all I heard Missy Elliott cut-ups, slothy grime riddims, queasy abstract electronics, shots of quaint Brit-folk and doses of electro-funk, wispy female vocals, and even a track that sounds like it could have been some old lost soul number. A few clicks later and the website popped up – nothing there, really, save for a drawing, some mp3's, and an e-mail address. I fired off a quick note in my best professional journalese requesting an interview and called it a night.
No response ever came. Nor did it come with any subsequent emails on my part.
A couple of days later I spun the tracks again, and this time out they sounded different. Nothing stuck hard the first time, but with a second turn the claws began to dig deep. First there was "Cogmac," a lithe skip, a shoulder shrug beat, high female vocals pitched into the rhythm. But then came "Queen Bee," the B-side with Var. Prod. making their best effort at blowing up Stock, Hausen & Walkmen's game. Nipped from the Rotary Connection, this one channels the original's dewy vocals over broad orchestral sweeps – a deep and penetrating sadness in the chorus, a sleepy set of pipes nursing a drink and a busted heart. The "Foller/Home" single played next – the A-side all queasy seasickness, a low end throb pouncing up and down matched by yet another female voice and a harp. The flip got off on Shirley Collins, a banjo, an incantation, some old folk song I thought I had heard a million times before that sounded fresh and alive here.
Back on the internet I googled. I emailed. I hit the web boards and the blogs, posted messages and asked around. Every time the same response – "Oh yeah, I've heard of them. Good stuff. No one knows anything about them, though. I hear they signed to Warp/Leaf /[insert various other big time labels here]." An unending refrain, it would seem. The leads were hilariously slim – a friend of a friend on a message board had tea with them and said they were quite nice. A whois search on the website domain turned up a generic hosting company. Glowing reviews on Boomkat, another review that mentioned this being the newest production from Adam Phillips and Ian Carter. The Carter thing was a false lead, instead giving way to an Ian Cotterell. Either/or, it didn't really matter in the end – all roads led to the same blank cul de sac.
And still – more tracks. On to the 12”s, a different beast entirely, terse funk, twisted R&B moves and dance floor stunners. "I'm Really Hot" rips Missy apart over twisting percussive moves, somehow sounding much rawer than Misdemeanor ever was on the original. Again, though, it's the flipside of the single that burns. "Where I Belong" opens with a furious drum salvo, the rhythm all akimbo, the cymbals flaring, and the synths building steadily. Another anonymous female comes on the mic breathing sweet nothings into the air, a touch of menace circulating her winsome voice. A new 12”, another curve ball – "Too Lost in You/What About Them?" mines the Sugarbabes and Brandy for source vocals, ultimately popping limber funk in directions the originals never dreamed of. One final 7”, this one "Hater/Byker" and yet another shade of Various Production. The lead is glinting dubstep, the percussive hits giving off a metallic gleam as the female vocalist warns off the titular menace. But then when we switch sides, what comes up? "Byker," a version of an old traditional English folk song (although for the life of me I can't place the one they sampled, if it even is pinched) given the once over, the strings drawn out to cascade, the tension palpable, a work ballad transformed for the right now.
Various Production like to plunder, that's for sure. And maybe for some that's a bit problematic. Then again, so adept are they at transforming their source material into wholly new pieces it doesn't even feel like a theft. Rather, they encompass all of these sounds and disparate vocalists into their own distinct brand that they capably switch before anyone can even remotely get a handle on them. Then today, at the last minute another lead, this time a blistering, hazy mix for the BBC’s Breezeblock show incorporating bits and pieces of everything they seem to do so well... Read on.
The World Is Gone (XL Recordings, July 17, 2006) - Versus (Various Production, July 7, 2008) - The Invisible Lodger (featuring Gerry Mitchell) (Fire Records, February 23, 2009)
