On September 27th, for 8 hours and ten minutes, an 18-plus ensemble of composers, songwriters and instrumentalists from LA’s experimental pop and classical scenes gathered on the roof of eighteen-thirty to perform composer Michael Pisaro’s new work “Ascending Series 3.” The day-long event was enlightening for both performers and audience. Recorded in its entirety, it is one of the few uninterrupted documents of long-duration experimental work. The performance marks Michael Pisaro’s first collaboration with Human Ear Music, as well as our most memorable event at eighteen-thirty.

From the Programme:

As you read this, Ascending Series 3 is being performed on the eighteen-thirty rooftop. It is an 8 hour performance scored for 18 performers The instructions are as simple as they are challenging: to “harmonize” with the environment.

By “harmonize” we do not necessarily mean to play in tune with, to imitate or to reproduce the sounds around us. We mean to simply allow the sounds we make to be part of the sounds we observe. The performance space, a panoramic view surrounded by distant hills on all sides, serves as an ideal sonic environment.

The day is divided by a series of “interludes” – scale progressions in which the performers will play in unison. If you are arriving at the right moment, or if you choose to stay long enough, you may hear one of these interludes marking the passage of 80 minutes of the performance.

In keeping with the idea of environmental harmony as an all-inclusive act, a few “alternate” performances have been scheduled throughout the day. Some of today’s participants will leave the main event to play their own music, or the music of other composers. As this will become part of the sonic surroundings, you might hear the remaining performers “harmonizing” with these shows as well. (See the back panel for times)

*For visitors who wish to join in, you may sing, borrow an unused instrument to play, or bring your own. We’ll be here all day. Please remember to observe thenterludes occurring every 80 minutes. (During an interlude, the performers will gather at a central location and begin playing in unison.)

***

In the realm of experimental music – a music which perhaps saw its genesis in John Cage’s well-known 4′33’’ – testing, investigating and, ultimately, discovering the possibilities of music-making is an endlessly gratifying pursuit. Unlike the work of its high-modern predecessors, the new music did not seek to illustrate tenets of a manifesto, nor of an all-encompassing formula to advance the classical tradition. Now imagine every piece of music to be its own declaration of guidelines for living (and thriving) in the moment of a discovery.

This is a kind of originality that transcends novelty, that invigorates and satisfies continuously. And so, from the pioneering work in form and practice of John Cage follows the aesthetic enlightenment of Morton Feldman, the perceptual transformations of James Tenney, the gestural innovation of Wadada Leo Smith, the ethical consciousness of Christian Wolff, and so on.

In this music the act of composition is to engage the tools of discovery: of setting situations in motion, of measuring and comparing, of inviting chance operations, and ultimately, to create a transformed listenership. Unified more by breakthroughs than a set of identifiable sonic traits, composers in the experimental tradition have brought us a body of work with breathtaking diversity. From cacophony to silence, microscopic to epic.

Special Performances:

Nite Jewel & Julia Holter

ct anderson and Eric Klerks

Katie Clark John Hastings, Adam Overton: “You Blew It” by Christian Wolf (from “Prose Collection”)

Jason Grier

Participants:

Adam Overton
Casey Anderson
Courtney Garvin
Eric Klerks
Erick Clark
Gary Schultz
Greg Nicolett
Isaac Schankler
Janet Kim
Jason Grier
John Hastings
Julia Holter
Katie Clark
Michael Pisaro
Patrick Stephenson
Ramona Gonzalez
Scott Cazan
Tashi Wada

Thanks:

Casey Anderson
Clifton Hibbert
Emily Jane
Ian James
Phillip Haut
Summer Shiffman
Thadeus Frazier-Reed

Brought to you by Human Ear Music and eighteen-thirty
www.humanearmusic.com | www. eighteen-thirty.com

Panorama sequence, shot in successive rotations during sunset, by Summer Shiffman.

Ice sculpture by Clifton Hibbert at Ice King Creations
www.icekingcreations.com

Recorded in its entirety by Thadeus Frazier-Reed