Beyond tabs and the photo chords of Mel Bay, I’m utterly lost when it comes to reading music. This in part probably explains my fascination with Cornelius Cardew’s Treatise, the first instance of graphical music notation i’ve stumbled upon.
The concept is as beautiful as it is brilliant. Create a visual language as non-traditional musical notation to be interpreted by its preformers. Frequently repeated elements provide a foundation for consensually determined structural consistency. The result? Gestalt driven compositions that level the roles of performer and composer toward a common language of ebb, flow and torrent.
Cardew was also a founding member of The Scratch Orchestra.
Cornelius Cardew: Treatise (1-2) (mp3, 23.9MB, mediafire)
Treatise: An Animated Analysis
2 Comments
I worked with Cardew. Not on Treatise, but on two otyher innovatives scores called Schooltime Compositions and The Tigers Mind - the latter at the Middle Earth in Covent Garden, home os much psychedlia at the time. I can honestly say that working with these scores (and later weith Treatise) and with Cardew himself was one of the most liberating musical experiences of my life.
sam— i would love to check your work out! any links?
Incoming Links
Leave a Reply