Contemporary Music Analysis and Speculation :: essays research papers

Nuova Consonanza - NC Berlino 1969 The piece begins with about 3 sounds occurring concurrently. I can identify a guitar or similar string instrument distinctly. I also hear a wind instrument drone. As the piece progresses, I hear random noises in the background. These begin with an object sliding down a wire, creating a downward scale effect. High pitched piano that is low in intensity is heard. Suddenly I hear a squeaky, high pitched sound that sounds like squeaking on glass with wet fingers. This is soon followed by clinging objects such as keys. It sounds as if they are made of plastic or wood. The squeaky sound continues and becomes more regular and frequent. Added to it is a sound similar to a xylophone. I hear objects being struck that produce different tones, medium in pitch. The mood of the piece gradually changes into a darker aura. Deeper, lower pitched percussion begins to take over as the most-noticed sound in the piece. This low percussion gets louder and more frequent, leading into some high pitched sounds that resemble an object striking wooden planks. Soon after, I begin to notice the sound of trumpets or some other brass instrument backed by low pitched percussion, such as a bass drum. The brass is joined by what sounds like a squeaky hinge for a short time. The metal-on-metal sound heard here is very distinct. These sounds gradually fade away as the piece becomes more silent. The instrumentation becomes more drone-like, resembling the beginning of the piece. After the period of reduced volume, I hear several instruments making short, fast sounds. The drone style continues, as the short, fast sounds are clearly the secondary focus. The first sound I identify sounds like a human blowing into a long tube. Next I hear a flute and what sounds like a high pitched electric motor speeding and slowing. This transitions into high pitched, continuous percussion, which sounds like cymbals. The brass heard before continues but now it is much more continuous and drone-like. After a while the volume gets louder, while the sounds continue in a drone fashion. The sounds fade away, but as the piece ends I hear springs creaking and a human inhale. As a listener I can categorize this piece into the collage category. I feel that while listening I am among a collection of objects and am free to observe any one of them at any given time.