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Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire

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AllMusic[1]

Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire (Graphic Scores 1986–96) is a double live album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It comprises a series of graphic scores Frith composed in 1992 "for any number of players".[2] It was performed live by Frith, Ikue Mori, Zeena Parkins and the International Occasional Ensemble at five concerts in Canada (October 1992), Italy (May 1992), Belgium (May 1994), Netherlands (October 1994) and Germany (October 1995). Frith also conducted and directed the performances.

Background

The graphic scores used for the performances were a set of photographs taken by Frith of a variety of inanimate objects, including stone pavings, brick walls, windows, stacks of logs and high-tension wires. Each photograph had instructions explaining to the musicians how to interpret the patterns in the image. For example, "Skylight IV" was a photograph of skylights in a large building and was annotated as follows:[3]

Three duos and a solo, accumulative and staggered. A - drums/harp. B - baritone sax/piano. C - drum machines/bass clarinet. D - trumpet. Black vertical lines = silence. Time left to right. First duo plays first line. After 30 seconds, second duo starts second line. First duo re-enters at white dotted line, repeating first line as exactly as possible. Process continues in the same way. Note that black 'blocks' within the playing frame represent silence also. Duration: 4:00. Conducted.

Frith chose the pictures for the patterns and repetitions they contained. Breaks in the patterns (for example, paint smudges, leaves on sand) guided soloists and defined instrumental groupings. Generally time was read from left to right and pitch vertically. Under the direction of Frith, with wide latitude given to each individual musician's interpretation of the proceedings, the resulting music was a form of structured improvisation. Dave Lynch at AllMusic wrote: "At its best, structured improvisation can provide a guiding context that enhances, rather than limits, the impact of the improvisations themselves. Such is the case with Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire, some of the best photographs you ever heard."[1]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Fred Frith.

Disc 1
No.TitleLength
1."Untitled"
  •   "Goongerah"
  •   "Tokyo"
  •   "Firewood"
13:19
4:20
2:15
6:42
2."Untitled"
  •   "Screen"
  •   "Dry Stone I"
  •   "Dry Stone II"
11:17
3:38
4:59
2:39
3."Untitled"
  •   "Bricks for Six"
  •   "Vlissingen"
8:43
4:10
4:33
4."Skylight"3:27
5."Dry Stone II"4:17
6."Bricks for Six"1:48
7."Untitled"
  •   "Dry Stone I"
  •   "Dry Stone II"
4:12
2:03
2:09
8."Untitled"
  •   "Skylight (extract)"
  •   "High Tension (extract)"
1:38
0:31
1:07
9."Roof"1:28
10."Untitled"
  •   "Screen"
  •   "High Tension"
  •   "Zurich"
5:59
3:40
1:33
0:46
11."Athens"3:39
12."Firewood"1:49
Disc 2
No.TitleLength
1."Untitled"
  •   "Green"
  •   "Dry Stone II"
  •   "Improvisation"
  •   "Roof"
  •   "Improvisation"
  •   "Reykjavik"
  •   "Vlissingen"
  •   "Improvisation"
  •   "Skylight V (extract)"
33:39
5:54
6:50
1:34
1:54
1:45
4:02
5:15
1:17
5:18
2."Untitled"
  •   "Improvisation"
  •   "Tokyo (extract)"
6:35
5:28
1:06
3."Screen"5:49
4."Jahresringe"4:34
5."Firewood"6:23

Venues

Personnel

References

  1. ^ a b Lynch, Dave. "Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire". AllMusic. Retrieved 2007-03-02.
  2. ^ Frith, Fred. "Fred Frith compositions". Fred Frith homepage. Retrieved 2007-03-02.
  3. ^ Frith, Fred. "Skylight IV". Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire. Archived from the original on 2004-08-09. Retrieved 2007-03-02.
  4. ^ "10th Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville". International Festival Musique Actuelle Victoriaville. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
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