03 January 2011

Both ... and ... (Part II)

An exercise in on-line dialogue.





One neighbor having remarked, I really enjoy Varèse. Not all of his music, mind you, but I do simply adore Tuning Up, Amériques, Arcana, and both versions of Un grand sommeil noir ...

To which I replied obliquely:




FWIW, I do enjoy every note of Varèse.


Another neighbor queried:



—Even the tape interludes in Déserts? :-\


Which deserved an honest answer, though I offered it next day:



I wanted to revisit this before answering.

And now I have.

Yes, even those : )


And the inquirer followed up:



—Thanks for the reply — and I admire your due diligence. For some reason I just can’t take those interludes — they’re so murky and ponderous and “noisy” in contrast to the angular/sculpted instrumental writing. Which may have been exactly the contrast Varèse was going for, but it just doesn’t work for me. (I quite like the piece played sans interludes, however.)


Similarly, while Eric Tamm, author of the on-line book on Fripp linked to here, objects to the sharp turns on Exposure from the dulcet soft “Frippertronic” soundscapes to the unprepared fortissimo assaults . . . they don’t bother me, never did bother me.

Nor could I really say why . . . .

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