MUSICA CONIUNCTA
or Musical Intercourses

The idea about ‘musica coniuncta’ originated more than thirty years ago, suggested by a serendipitous happening. I had recorded two pieces from the radio at different times. In order to save tape, the pieces were recorded in mono on the adjacent tracks of a two-track tape. Only at some later time I realized two things. First, the pieces had the same duration. Second, and more important, they sounded incredibly well fused when played together, which would naturally happen listening to the tape in stereo mode. The latter discovery was so startling that I refrained from doing anything about it, as if I had been given a mysterious gift or sign that was not to be investigated. Many years later I timidly began to try intentional operations of the kind, saw that they could work, that no evident punishment was hitting me from above, so I decided to make a project of it. The accidental combination that started it all involved two orchestral pieces: the well-known “Lontano” by Ligeti and the lesser-known “Stop” by Stockhausen. It is presented as the last track in the programme. The other pieces are of a varied nature, but it will be noted that the gamelan is present in many of them.

All pieces use existing recorded music, except Track 2, ‘Hamza in Java’, where live overdubbing of the original oud-and-voice music is performed by musicians of ISI Surakarta on gamelan instruments.

(John Noise Manis)

MUSICA CONIUNCTA

Track 1 Prelude 2:21
J. S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, no. 1
African Voices, Puspa Warna

Track 2 Hamza in Java 14:00
Hamza el Din: Escalay (oud and voice)
Javanese musicians: 
Suraji (rebab 1 and 2), 
Hartono (kendhang), 
Sukamso (gambang, kendhang), 
Supardi (bonang)

Track 3 Wagnerengaw 9:00
R. Wagner: Das Rheingold, LP beginning and mirror return,
rainforest calls, 
Surakarta Bedaya chorus, Kodok Ngorek, J. Cage’s Mesostics, 
 humpback whale
, Yogya Kraton gamelan, 
call to prayer

Track 4 Pangkur Barber 3:06
Macapat Pangkur, Nyi Cendaniraras
 singer
Barber: Adagio for Strings

Track 5 Stravinsky Airport 4:42
Brian Eno: Music for Airports
Igor Stravinsky: Dances Concertantes, Symphony in Three Movements

Track 6 Pangkur Mahler 3:48
Macapat Pangkur, Nyi Cendaniraras
 singer
Mahler: Symphony no. 9, ending of last movement

Track 7 Rainy Gamelan Dream 5:36
Rehearsal sessions at Mangkunegaran, Surakarta 2000
Morton Feldman: Only

Track 8 Gangsaran el Perro 2:16
Gangsaran, Hartono kendhang
El Perro de Paterna, Cordoba: Carcelera

Track 9 Kecakage 2:42
Kecak (Bali): Kepandung Sita
John Cage: first of ‘Three Dances’

Track 10 Selundingage 1:27
Selunding (Bali): Rejang Renteng
John Cage: Daughters of the Lonesome Isle

Track 11 Sekaten at Sessa Aurunca 3:09
Gamelan Guntur Madu of Surakarta
Arciconfraternita del SS. Crocifisso di Sessa Aurunca: Miserere

Track 12 Ivescage 4:57
Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question
John Cage: Experiences no. 2

Track 13 Ligeti Stockhausen 10:36 (the original serendipitous tape recording)
Gyorgy Ligeti: Lontano
Karlheinz Stockausen: Stop