&ensp Subscribe to this feed. Canonical Form(1983), Milton Babbitt
Live Recording, June 10 2008
Merkin Concert Hall, NYC
Canonical Form is the longest of Babbitt’s piano works. It also has the unique feature of a recurring series of fermati, scattered throughout the piece, each notated with precise durational values.
Canonical Form by Augustus Arnone is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
My Complements To Roger(1978), Milton Babbitt
Live Recording, June 10 2008
Merkin Concert Hall, NYC
This piece has never before been made available in commercial recordings.
My Complements To Roger by Augustus Arnone is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Lagniappe(1985), Milton Babbitt
Live Recording, June 10 2008
Merkin Concert Hall, NYC
What does ‘Lagniappe’ mean, for those of you who like me thought this is a reference to some classical or literary character let’s give thanks for the speed and efficacy of Wikipedia for lending a hand in such matters. This is Babbitt revealing his roots in the South, though it undoubtedly refers to some technical feature of which I haven’t the faintest idea. Anyhow, the term itself… (From the mouth of Mark Twain no less!):
We picked up one excellent word — a word worth travelling to New Orleans to get; a nice limber, expressive, handy word — “lagniappe.” They pronounce it lanny-yap. It is Spanish — so they said. We discovered it at the head of a column of odds and ends in the Picayune, the first day; heard twenty people use it the second; inquired what it meant the third; adopted it and got facility in swinging it the fourth. It has a restricted meaning, but I think the people spread it out a little when they choose. It is the equivalent of the thirteenth roll in a “baker’s dozen.” It is something thrown in, gratis, for good measure. The custom originated in the Spanish quarter of the city. When a child or a servant buys something in a shop — or even the mayor or the governor, for aught I know — he finishes the operation by saying — “Give me something for lagniappe.” The shopman always responds; gives the child a bit of licorice-root, gives the servant a cheap cigar or a spool of thread, gives the governor — I don’t know what he gives the governor; support, likely. When you are invited to drink, and this does occur now and then in New Orleans — and you say, “What, again? — no, I’ve had enough;” the other party says, “But just this one time more — this is for lagniappe.” When the beau perceives that he is stacking his compliments a trifle too high, and sees by the young lady’s countenance that the edifice would have been better with the top compliment left off, he puts his “I beg pardon — no harm intended,” into the briefer form of “Oh, that’s for lagniappe.”
As for the piece, it contains the slowest tempo in all of MB’s piano music (Quarter=50), it also features the fastest (Quarter=150). I actually attained one of these tempos, you can surely guess which one. Jeez Milty, what were you thinking!
Lagniappe by Augustus Arnone is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
About Time(1982), Milton Babbitt
Live Recording, June 10 2008
Merkin Concert Hall, NYC
This is the second of the three pieces that comprise the Time Series.
About Time by Augustus Arnone is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Playing For Time(1977), Milton Babbitt
Live Recording, June 10 2008
Merkin Concert Hall, NYC
This is the first of the three pieces that comprise the Time Series.
Playing For Time by Augustus Arnone is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Minute Waltz(1977), Milton Babbitt
Live Recording, March 6, 2008
Merkin Concert Hall, NYC
Minute Waltz + or – 1/8. It’s mostly in 3/4 but every other measure he alternates between adding or subtracting an eight note. Everyone that talked to me after the concert made a special point to say how much they liked this piece, I’m crowning it a crowd favorite.
Minute Waltz — Milton Babbitt by Augustus Arnone is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
It Takes 12 To Tango(1984), Milton Babbitt
Live Recording, March 6, 2008
Merkin Concert Hall, NYC
Oh Milton you are such a kidder! Takes 12, I get it.. From the same man who brought you ‘Whirled Series’ and ‘All Set.’ Guess you have to do something to lighten things up considering how seriously those people who object to his music take themselves. Man, music is all games, just like anything else you can do in life , they might as well be scintillating and challenging ones.
At any rate, this is easily the most uniform of his piano works, there are only four dynamics in the whole piece – p, mp, mf, and f. In case you didn’t know that’s NOT true of the other works. There is also a great deal of rhythmic consistency, which tends to group pages at a time into tangible sections. Also not true of the other works, for the most part. That said, the pace and asychronicity of registral and dynamic contrasts is such that the rhythmic uniformity does not result in entirely hegemonious sectional divisions.
It Takes 12 To Tango — Milton Babbitt by Augustus Arnone is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
