Reviews
Strings and electronics
Ideas for each edition of The Sound Barrier sometimes emerge in the most unexpected ways. Like this week when, as I began thinking about possible ideas for this week's show, I received a fortuitous surprise in the mail from Sydney-based double-bassist and composer, Mark Cauvin: his latest CD, Compositions, Interpretations and Improvisations. It's a brilliant release and, as its title suggests, Mark includes on the CD compositions of his own, interpretations of those of others (including a wonderful performance of the double bass version of Karlheinz Stockhausen's IN FREUNDSCHAFT), and some improvisations. But the pieces that grabbed my attention the most are his works for double bass and electronics, compositions that both open and close the CD.
This then gave me the idea of exploring other works for the string family of the classical Western orchestra where solo instruments join with electronics to create different connection between these two sound sources: the one that has been heard in musical venues for centuries, the other emerging only in the last few decades.
Following their place on Mark Cauvin's CD, his two works for double bass and electronics open and close this edition of the show also.
His Triptych for Double Bass and Electronics, which opens the show, began life as an audio visual work in which live visual drawing projections from artist Jody Graham played the role that an orchestra might play in a concerto: reflecting, responding to, encapsulating, conversing with, the sound gestures of the solo instrument. In this audio-only version of the work, despite the absence of the visual component, we hear a similar part playing out in the electronics: grabbing the gestural sounds of the double bass, magnifying them, layering them, and creating a dense and multi-hued collaborator with the solo instrument, every bit as rich and nuanced in its textures and timbres as an orchestra would be in a conventional concerto. The music here has an immediate sense of physicality about it. From the outset, the double bass is lifted from its conventional place of foundational underlay for what others do. Here it is forceful, energetic, and it has much to say as the electronics scrunch, scrape, and dissipate the raw material of the instrument. There are violent waves of Merzbowesque noise, nervous pauses of uncertainty, deceptive hints of calm that soon give way to subterranean volcanoes, frenetic screeches, and pounding blows. The journey that the work's three sections take you on happen with such force and immediacy that you have no time to strap yourself in. This is no 19th-century Romantic concerto. Be ready to be bruised.
PBS FM 10pm-12am, Sound Barriers, Ian Parsons, 2/4/2023
VITAL WEEKLY 1384
MARK CAUVIN - COMPOSITIONS, INTERPRETATIONS AND IMPROVISATIONS (CDR private)
This release by Mark Cauvin is his third release, but the first time I hear his music. He is a double bass player from Australia and also uses electronics. This release has six compositions by Chauvin and one each by Karlheinz Stockhausen and Boguslaw Schaeffer. The first three pieces were commissioned by the Art Zoyd Studios as part of their YouTube Christmas Market in 2022. In these three pieces, the electronics play a significant role and sometimes sound damn fine noisy. The element of improvisation is also never far away, making a fine combination with a lot of tension. It reminded me of Kasper
T. Toeplitz in terms of intensity. Toeplitz's name also appears in 'Motor Bow - Improvisation', in which Cauvin uses a motorised bow, introduced by Toepltz and made by Leo Maurel. Here too, there is quite a bit of noise, which is most enjoyable. A zip plays a role in 'Zip Bow - Improvisation', and in 'Tape Piece For Double Bass, Noises And Electronics', he uses concise bits of magnetic tape and long strips, which he stuck together. This piece is the final piece of the release and also the one that is the most electronic piece. Perhaps no surprise that the last piece is also the one I enjoyed most. All of these pieces make up for an excellent release; as far as I am concerned, this would have been enough. All of that clocks in at over fifty minutes. There seem to be no electronics in the Stockhausen piece, and it sounds like an acoustic improvisation; well, I know it is modern composition, but nonetheless. That too can be said of the Schaeffer piece, but now with electronics; perhaps,
noisy too, but of a different kind. Not bad, but for all I care, I was already happy with Cauvin's own pieces, which gave me a pretty clear idea of his music, and I enjoyed his noise and bass combo a lot. (FdW)
––– Address: https://markcauvin.bandcamp.com/
There are plenty of solo double bass records out there, and many of them are quite good. The double bass is a relatively new instrument that, until about fifty years ago, had almost nothing to play – no repertoire, no tradition (not even in jazz or other less academic music genres). It's understandable that double bassists wanted to invent new forms and approaches for their instrument, whether by pushing composers to write for it or by creating their own music. This relative lack of heritage, which ultimately sparked curiosity and a certain revival/recognition, is not specific to the double bass. Tubists have followed a similar path, and so have others whose instruments were often seen as mere embellishments or "exotic colors." The resurgence of percussion in the last half-century is a prime example, whereas the violin has gained a few new pieces but has not taken a giant leap or undergone a revolution as the double bass has. The reason being, when you play the violin (or the piano), you have a plethora of music to choose from – and certainly, a considerable burden to bear when trying to offer something different in a field already crowded with masterpieces.
So yes, there are plenty of solo double bass records, and generally, they are very pleasant to listen to. The blend of the wood's resonance, a somewhat cumbersome yet controlled virtuosity, the warmth of the sound as a whole, and the occasional unheard-of sounds often result in something that can be more easily shared with those unfamiliar with exploratory music (and, as a result, often wary of it).
This album by Australian double bassist Mark Cauvin, his third (following "Installation of Sound" in 2014 and the double CD "Transfiguration" in 2008, which featured a collection of 20th-century compositions for double bass, including works by Scelsi, Xenakis, Berio, and Fernando Grillo, the latter appearing to be Mark's absolute hero and also his friend) – so this new album, "Compositions, Interpretations, and Improvisations," could just be that: another double bass album, and that would already be something. However, the impression after repeated listens is that there is much more at play in this work (work, because this seemingly eclectic collection of pieces forms a cohesive whole, a unified object, and, furthermore, an object of thought). Yes, the attitude is far more essential and pervasive than the somewhat generic title suggests, and possibly more than the author himself may have envisioned.
First, let's cover some factual details: Mark Cauvin, as mentioned before, is a double bassist from Australia, but he is also a psychiatric nurse. Although I've never had the opportunity to discuss with him the connections or contributions these two occupations have to each other, they both involve a similar image of "getting to grips with" something, whether it's a human body or an instrument, both of which are substantial and unwieldy (which is why double bassists often refer to their instrument as "the grandmother"). It's about literally taking it on, whether it's the patient or the instrument. For anyone in doubt, I recommend revisiting Joëlle Léandre's "Taxi" – another double bassist who has been grappling with this sonorous beast for years and who embodies a strong and unwavering artistic opinion. Mark is a double bassist but practices in solitude since he doesn't play in groups, contrary to the usual role of a double bassist, which is to be a sideman, an accompanist, the one who "pushes" the soloist throughout the concert before retiring with their massive contraption out of the spotlight. Furthermore, he is rarely heard in those more or less spontaneous duos that seem to be the required way of life for most improvisational double bassists. He most often plays alone, with music he has composed or improvised, or as a solo performer (in the original sense, without accompaniment) of pieces composed by others, such as Cat Hope's excellent solo double bass piece "Dynamic Architecture I." However, he collaborates with artists from other disciplines, such as dance or drawing. This solitary position is well illustrated by his new album, "Compositions, Interpretations, and Improvisations," which contains two compositions by Mark Cauvin, two improvisations, and two pieces by recognized composers who passed away not too long ago, Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007) and Bogusław Schaeffer (1929-2019). His first composition, "Triptych for Double Bass with Electronics," which starts with a noise that Merzbow would not disown, was originally conceived as a concerto. However, Cauvin decided to replace the orchestral accompaniment with the digital projection of drawings created in real-time by visual artist Jody Graham – who, of course, cannot be heard on the album but forms a true duo with the double bassist, "Sound Drawings." What you hear is a mixture of textures, layers of sound, an instrument often impossible to recognize, which could best be described as a blend of acoustic (the warmth of the wood mentioned earlier) and electronic – all created with incredibly limited means, barely two or three guitar pedals, no post-production editing, no fancy electronic processing. What is also evident is an incredible physical energy: you almost feel like you can see the musician in a trance right in front of you. His other composition, "Tape Piece for Double Bass, Noises, and Electronics," is almost the exact opposite: a recording on magnetic tape that has been cut into different lengths and then reassembled, in a different order, of course, creating another continuity. The process, as well as the result, is very acousmatic, very early electronics, immediately reminiscent of the "young Stockhausen," the one who composed his first electronic study in 1953 in a similar way – but with much more precise calculations of pitch and duration ratios (and therefore the lengths of the various tape segments): his Study 1 is often referred to as the "study of a thousand splices." But we will return to the relationship between Cauvin and Stockhausen a little later. The two improvisations, which are formally in the same waters, textures, and densities as his compositions, both focus on the other instrument of the double bass, the bow (yes, many musicians and luthiers indeed consider the bow as a separate instrument, although it is part of the instrument to which they are intended, an example of divided unity, like siamese twins, perhaps). Or rather, they revolve around variations of the bow: in "Motor Bow," it's a mechanical bow with an electric motor, thus an "infinite" bow, created by the maker of experimental instruments, Léo Maurel, which sets off like an earthquake, a long rumble accompanied by high-pitched squeaks – while the bow in "Zip Bow," whose recording comes from an improvisation with Jody Graham, is an invention of Mark himself, who attached a zipper to a bow instead of the usual horsehair bundle. The idea came to him while playing with the zipper on his backpack (zippers and backpacks are also present in the basic materials of "Tape Piece for Double Bass, Noises, and Electronics"). As he himself puts it, the bite that the zipper inflicts on the strings of the instrument is ruthless and damaging to the strings, which cost about 500 Australian dollars, but it produces a unique sound, a sound that is also at the core of the duo with Jody Graham that they titled "Song of the Zip." That covers Mark Cauvin's contributions to the album "Compositions, Interpretations, and Improvisations." Now, let's talk about the other compositions and interpretations, those by Karlheinz Stockhausen and Bogusław Schaeffer: "In Freundschaft" (1977) by the former and the first movement of the "Electronic Symphony" (1969) by the latter. Certainly, just a few years ago, seeing compositions and improvisations focused more on noise than on notes, along with interpretations of composers such as Stockhausen (whom I consider one of the most important of the 20th century, or at least in the top three or five), would have filled me with joy – the joy of seeing these musics being (finally) treated as equals. However, here, the contrast is less favorable: as soon as we enter these two pieces, it feels like a change in light or era, as if we're transported to the past, into a different definition of music perhaps. This is more noticeable in "In Freundschaft" (and it's the first time I've found a Stockhausen composition to sound "dated" or "old-fashioned"), probably because it's a solo piece and strictly acoustic, whereas the double bass electrified in the "Electronic Symphony" appears less outdated. Furthermore, these two "reference" pieces (as they say at contemporary music concerts, where the commission to "young composers" often stipulates building upon a certified masterpiece, a Mozart, a Bach, at the far edge of modernity, a Debussy) are placed right after Cauvin's "Triptych for Double Bass with Electronics," which is undoubtedly the masterpiece of the album, the "Searchlight" of the project – this powerful spotlight of the DCA that war pilots called "The White Finger." Perhaps a different arrangement of the pieces would have mitigated this sense of a rupture, a return to the past... But let me immediately clarify that the issue is not with Cauvin's interpretation, which is quite impeccable – in fact, his version of "In Freundschaft" was endorsed by Kathinka Pasveer, Stockhausen's historic interpreter and, in a way, the guardian of his musical legacy, especially through the "Stockhausen Courses for New Music" in Kürten, a village near Cologne, where the master lived. The issue (if it can even be called one, but I perceive it more as incredibly good news) is that contemporary music and its protagonists (with Mark Cauvin being one of its major players) no longer need to be measured against music from the past, even if that past is relatively recent. Finally, contemporary music has matured and gained independence from the criteria of value and methods of the past. Consequently, music conceived and performed in 2022 or 2023 may seem more current, more "contemporary," than compositions from 1969 or 1977, which are nearly half a century old. It's no longer surprising; we are simply shifting from a museum-like perspective to a vision of the present day.
There is a strong possibility that Mark Cauvin did not consciously intend to mark this transition, this difference in eras. We have mentioned his attachment to contemporary repertoire, a certain idea and respect for what is called contemporary music, and we have cited the names of Scelsi, Xenakis, Stockhausen, noting the influence of Grillo (who was among the first to give the double bass a prominent role). Furthermore, it is perhaps with him that I have had the deepest discussions about what it means, or should mean, to "interpret" another composer's composition. If we were to draw parallels with the masters of the past, we could say that Mark Cauvin faced a similar moral obligation and dilemma as Arnold Schönberg did more than a century ago (in the early 1900s). Schönberg, initially an ardent admirer of Wagner, Strauss, and Brahms, felt historically compelled to move away from tonal music and develop atonal serial music because it more accurately reflected the times, even though he was fearful of abolishing the organizing principles he believed were necessary, fearing that "sonic chaos" would replace the structured tonality. With this album, "Compositions, Interpretations, and Improvisations," it is possible that Mark Cauvin has taken a similar step, achieved a similar advancement, and further explored our present.
Kasper T. TOEPLITZ
“Beautiful pieces using bowed mini basses, a planetarium and something else (I think). This dark, rich music is interrupted by odd sounds (which appear keyboardy, though I know they’re not) and would have caused a dandy riot in Paris almost exactly a century ago. That we can now appreciate this as merely a fantastic racket of goodness surely speaks to our evolution.”
Byron Coley, pg. 70, Size Matters, The Wire Magazine UK July 2013.
Exclusively available in a deluxe edition and includes the Kontrabassarium vinyl 7", a glossy postcard and a stickered box. Handnumbered edition.
A two track oasis of Kontrabassarium that combines the sounds of Double Bass, a Kontrabassarium and concrete sounds. Extensive use of analogue and digital synthesis.
There is no need for a stage in order to play, to live with your instrument, even if for many people (although not all, as attitudes change), it has tended to be seen as a compulsory path. The Australian double bassist Marc Cauvin, even if he is certainly a "professional" musician who gives concerts and nourishes his musical practice through performing in front of an audience, gives the impression that he is one of those people who could spend hours all alone listening to the subtle resonance of the sonorous body they have chosen: and in the case of double bass, there would be no shortage of it, given the size of the instrument. The music he produces, particularly on this CD, Installation of Sound, which is well named (as he indeed installs sound), is precisely that: listening. There are objects, there is even some primary electronics, but it is the double bass that is in control. However
it is not a disk of solo double bass, or even a disk of a double bass player; these are exercises or attempts to find one alone which can sometimes engender miracles and most of the time are simply declarations of virtuosity. Marc Chauvin's double bass is not a marvel of virtuosity (of course, he certainly knows how to play- we're not talking about a beginner here) but it speaks of purity. The impression, or perception, we have is that it is not a musician and his instrument;it is a dialogue between them,because they know each other well and have undoubtedly spent many moments together in a joint solitude. Like when Marc Cauvin takes his double bass, puts it in his car and sets
off through the desert, crossing Australia from Sydney to Melbourne- around 900 kilometres- just to improvise for one short morning with another musician, with no audience, simply for the pleasure of playing. We know what they are like, these long car trips: even with the best friends in the world, you can sometimes run out of topics of conversation. So Marc Cauvin and his double bass turn to other subjects, and play the music of other composers : this is the content of his double CD Transfiguration, where he interprets a "contemporary" repertoire for his instrument, including Scelsi and Berio and Xenakis, but also (and especially?) three compositions including two unreleased works by the fabulous double bassist Fernando Grillo. And we can see how, even though Grillo was a amazing musician (he died in 2013). he was undoubtedly not a composer on the same level,and it is his short pieces (including one dedicated to Marc Cauvin) that we prefer, those where the two double bassists, the one who plays and the one who writes, remain closest to their instrument, without venturing into excessively large architectures.
The great musical architectures are perilous: often it is the moment when the musician changes status, the instrumentalist becomes a composer- and rare are those who retain tbe two statuses.
Reviewer Kasper Toeplitz (FRANCE)
Publication: http://www.revue-et-corrigee.net
Mark's latest offering is an eclectic album of compositions that explores the double bass as a protagonist in the realm of musique concrete and elektronische music.
The USB edition includes a model replica 1:12 scale size double bass, case inserts, a screw in endpin, a bow, and header card. The album is included on a flash drive inside the case.
A collection of modern works which serve to explore and reinterpret the outer tonal qualities and harmonic possibilities of the double bass.
A 2CD of solo double bass works with first time recordings of Fernando Grillo's monumental Suite I for Solo Contrabbasso. Other rarities include Giacinto Scelsi's Ko-Tha I, II, and III, Laszlo Dubrovay's Solo No.10, and Iannis Xenakis's Theraps.
For Mark Cauvin
For solo double bass and transducer
Premiered October 15, 2015, at Sound Spectrum - Music From Visitors.
ACMC November 2015, Bon Marche Studio, UTS.
Performance Filmmaker Samuel James
http://shimmerpixel.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/appearance-picnic.html
"First we were treated to a rendition of the late Melbourne sound artist Syd Clayton’s composition Yehudi (1968). As the audience filed into the auditorium, two people were seated at a small table near the stage, chatting. The audience waited and waited and eventually the two performers—Mark Cauvin (double bass) and Adam Simmons (bass saxophone)—picked up their instruments. The performance unfolded as a mixture of mime and unconventional playing, with nonsensical physical gestures, hoots and grunts and included a tea break in which the performers discussed the piece, boiled a kettle and asked audience members for a cigarette. This is comic theatre that comments seriously on the limitations of conventional musical performance."
Chris Reid: Real Time Arts, Liquid Architecture 10, Melbourne 2009
