MU4EMC Project 1: Setting the Scene

Mapping the Territory

Sungji Hong – Lux Mundi for Ensemble (2018)
- A composition using a wide range of extended techniques and timbral variety. There’s a level of excitement that runs throughout the composition, with lots of note flourishes, cascading runs, and careful chromaticism. However, the tonality remains grounded and consonant, with very present perfect intervals being traded by the ensemble.
Daphne Oram – Pulse Persephone (1963)
- A dark, textural/timbral, composition using percussive techniques in what appear to be a combination of electronic and acoustic sources. There’s a ‘pulsating’ element to the piece and a certain feeling of continuity that would be the result of experimentation with tape loops of varying lengths playing simultaneously. I would like to know more about Oram’s techniques and approach, having read about her work in electronic compositions for this module.
Sun Ra – I Roam The Cosmos (1973)
- This is a 51-minute, mid-tempo swing base over which a (possibly) improvised poem dealing with philosophy and astronomical mythology (among other things) is traded by Sun Ra and June Tyson. This is a lo-fi recording and has a very dramatic tone (in the poetry) that is highly contrasted by the subtle and laid back jam going on behind it. It lasts nearly an hour and knowing that this is Sun Ra, it’s both unsurprising and fascinating.