Synchronisms (Davidovsky)
Synchronisms is a series of twelve
The series, "is characterized by the interaction of virtuoso musicians with a counterpoint of electronically generated sounds covering a broad tonal and timbral spectrum."[2] Davidovsky describes the goals of his series: "In those works, I try to keep, on the one hand, as much as possible of what is characteristic of the electronic instrument [medium], and, on the other, what is characteristic of the live performer. At the same time, each extends the other."[3] In the series Davidovsky attempts, "exact coordination only in short passages of intricate counterpoint; elsewhere, in more extended passages in which one component clearly accompanied the other, 'an element of chance ["leeway in the synchronization"] is introduced'".[4]
The works are as follows:
- Flute (1963)
- Flute, clarinet, violin, cello (1963)
- Cello (1964)
- Chorus (1967)
- Percussion quintet (1969)
- Piano and electronic sound (1970)
- Orchestra (1973)
- Wind quintet (1974)
- Violin (1988)
- Guitar (1992)
- Bass (2005)
- Clarinet (2006)
Performance History
Synchronisms No's. 3, 6, 9, 11, and 12 were played at the Davidovsky Memorial Concert (2020) in Yellow Barn, Vermont[5][6]
No. 6
Synchronisms No. 6, for
No. 6 was written for pianist Robert Miller (of The Group for Contemporary Music[4]).[7] The Pulitzer jury found that the piece, "shows mastery of a new medium and its imaginative use in combination with the solo pianoforte."[8] Violinist Mari Kimura, who studied with Davidovsky, cites Synchronisms No. 6 as prompting her initial interest in electronic music.[9]
Recordings
- Boston Musica Viva - Boston Musica Viva Plays Schwanter, Ives and Others (1987) [No. 3][1]
- Aleck Karis - Secret Geometry (1996) [No. 6][1]
- Jennifer Frautschi - Solovision (2003) [No. 9][1]
- Davidovsky - Flashbacks (2000) [No. 10][1]
- David Bowlin - Bird As Prophet (2019) [No. 9][10]
- Michael Nicolas - Transitions (2016) [No. 3][11]
See also
Further reading
- Gryč, Stephen Michael (1978). "Stratification and Synthesis in Mario Davidovsky's Synchronism No. 6, ITO 4/4: 8-39. M.M. thesis, University of Michigan.[12]
References
- ^ ISBN 9780879308650.
- ISBN 9781136468940.
- ^ "Mario Davidovsky", MilkenArchive.org.
- ^ ISBN 9780199796007. [Quotes Davidovsky.]
- ^ http://yellowbarn.org/sites/default/files/july_23_programnotes.pdf
- ^ "Search | YellowBarn".
- ^ Rockwell, John. 1981. "Robert Miller, Pianist-Lawyer". New York Times (December 1): D31, col. 4.
- ISBN 9780815603924.
- ^ Kimura, Mari (Spring 1995). "Performance Practice in Computer Music", p.64, Computer Music Journal, 19:1, pp.64-75.
- ^ "Bird as Prophet, by David Bowlin".
- ^ "Michael Nicolas – Transitions (2016, CD)". Discogs. 2016.
- ISBN 9781576470954.
External links
- Susser, Peter Matthew. "Attack, Sustain and Decay: An Analysis of 'Synchronisms No. 3 for Cello and Electronic Sounds' by Mario Davidovsky", Music.Columbia.edu.