Paul Lansky September 25, 2007
Posted by Tom Moore in : Uncategorized , trackback
Composer Paul Lansky, on the music faculty at Princeton for decades, is one of the leading lights of the world of computer music, a world that often seems to speak to itself, with not so much traffic moving in and out of the greater musical universe. This is certainly not the case for Lansky, whose ears are open to the possibilities of incorporating sounds and harmonies both from the natural world, and from the world of popular music. Many of his pieces musically transform source material such as speech and even traffic noise.
My favorite among his compositions, a piece that makes me smile and tap my foot, even dance, is the infectious Table’s Clear, from his CD Homebrew (Bridge 9035).
Lansky takes the musical play of his sons tapping on glasses, pots and pans, as well as hand claps and even arm-farts, and creates an 18-minute expanse of funky rhythms, a sort of swinging kitchen gamelan, beginning with individual tinks and doinks, and little by little building up an irresistible groove, washed with swathes of diatonic and occasionally bluesy harmonies. Lansky has a large and varied output, including a move to pieces for conventional instruments over the last decade, but for my money, Table’s Clear is definitely the place to begin to get to know his work.
You can hear Table’s Clear and other works by Lansky via the Classical Music Library streaming service. You can also download (for free) dozens of pieces in mp3 from his website at Princeton.
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