Artist: Ergo Phizmiz

Title: The Faust Cycle (or The House of Dr. Faustus)

So today’s listening was a turning point on The Faust Cycle for me.  Actually, it wasn’t a single turning point, but rather multiple turning points.

First was the introduction of The Faust Cycle Podcast.  My first impression about this was: what a wonderful thing to do.  Sharing this work with a group of kids, getting them the experience of making free-form music, and experimentation.  Getting them excited about the process of recording this type of work.  It’s a completely wonderful way to expand these kids horizons, but also extend the community of the Creative Commons and Libre Culture to another generation.

The inclusion of their podcast in The Faust Cycle itself adds another, very interesting, dimension to the piece.  Those who are familiar with the writings of Jorge Louis Borges, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and James Joyce, to name a very few (it can be argued that I am referring back to Laurence Sterne again as well),  have undoubtedly heard of the term meta-fiction.

Meta-fiction is typically fiction about fiction, or at least is self-aware in one way or another.  The introduction of the podcast in this context adds another type of meta-fictional element: this is now an audio piece that is aware of itself, aware of the elements that have gone into it’s production.

Of Kinetoscopes & Dung

Now, back at the main piece we arrive to the next twist of the narrative: Ergo finds that he has become human again and is no longer a puppet.  He realizes that he has no idea what amount of time has transpired: hours, days weeks?  And he realizes that he’s about to burst, and sets off to find a lavatory to relieve himself.  And, after finding an appropriate room, with one enormous push he is emptied.

While this activity is normal and necessary, he has a realization that he feels more empty than normal, that something is wrong.  While playing a harmonica, trying to figure out what is wrong, he hears wailing from the pipes beneath where his soul has gone with his bowel movement.  After noting the irony, Ergo realizes that he must get his soul back and thus flushes himself down the pipes.

What transpires in the sewage system below can only be described as hellish in ways we haven’t encountered thus far. Ergo watches several kinetoscopes of films about Lucifer, but is unable to decide what they mean.  However, after the 2nd film, he hears a piano off in the distance, and decides to follow the sound to find his soul.

The piano we hear, is the same James Nye piece that has been used throughout: An Evening In Hell.  Ergo finds himself in a ballroom, where many people are dancing and humming.  As he stands in the corner, where only the piano has noticed his presence, he suddenly hears a voice in his ear reciting nonsensical poetry.  He looks around to find the source of the voice, only to find a pig, which when patted squeals and expands to the size of the room then falls to pieces.

Lonely Violin music, and an interpretation of “Le Tango Perpetuel” and “An Evening in Hell” close this section of the piece.

Onwards…

Artist: Ergo Phizmiz

Title: The Faust Cycle (or The House of Dr. Faustus)

When I left off yesterday, I stated that I wanted to have a separate download of “Improvisation for Cello & Electronics” by Bela Emerson.  It is such a captivating piece that I mentioned that it reminded me of a Karlheinz Stockhausen piece, alas I didn’t mention the title: Mantra.  I also mentioned Klaus Schulze & Rainer Bloss, but didn’t mention that I was thinking of the 2nd half of the Audentity album.

I’ve re-listened to the Bela Emerson piece, and still hold to my words.  However, besides Stockhausen and Bloss, I knew there was more that I was thinking about.  The next section of The Faust Cycle was to bring the connections to other music that I have listened to throughout the years to the foreground.  Hell Kebabs by Angela Valid brought into my mind some of the really classic electroacoustic pieces I’ve listened to throughout the years…  One of the better compilations of such pieces can be found in the Archives GRM collection, which features composers / artists like Pierre Boulez, Edgar Varese, Iannis Xenakis, Olivier Messiaen, Luc Ferrari, and  Francois Bayle just to name a few.

It also occurred to me that this is one of the things that I am not hearing a lot of the electronic micro-tonal / marco-tonal works that are coming out on netlabels like Resting Bell…  While the electronic works are detailed, well structured and thought out, they tend to not have the level of text and detail found in the earliest electroacoustic works from the 1950′s and 1960′s.  It’s definitely something that sets The Faust Cycle apart from other works.

After Hell Kebabs we return to a more narration oriented section, although this time, there is some meshing of the electroacoustic work in the background of the narration, even when a tango and waltz are mixed over the top of the abstract and complex texture of Hell Kebabs, which finally fades into the background as we are introduced to “Gretchen”.

Ergo, still in his wooden puppet form, watches Gretchen, and listens to her as she whispers in his ear.  She eventually slips into sing chanting portions of Anything Goes. We listen to a a small ensemble perform for a bit, then “Improvisation for Cell & Electronics” is re-introduced behind Gretchen.  This is a wonderful bit of meta-audio-narration as the familiar chirping of birds are re-introduced, the mixture of the string ensemble with muted trumpet, and several themes re-emerge.

After the conclusion of “Gretchen” we are cast into “Chronicles of the Suspicious Gentleman”.  This section starts with a piece sung by a small ensemble, and then Gretchen narrates the story as depicted by puppets.  The story revolves around the Gentleman and Madiana.  Much of the stroy is told through musical interpretation that mixes elements in a unique form, sounding like modern electronica, a 1920′s victrola and a carnival barker before giving way to an unusual interpretation (mashup?) of Fever, which gives way to another unusual interpretation — I can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch).  This gives a whole new meaning to the context of the song, bringing out the elements of jealousy and insecurity.

This section is a little more successful, or at least a little more obvious, when it comes to linkage between the music and the narrative elements.  It’s either that, or  I am getting some of my chops back for listening to a more complicated work such as this.

Onwards…