James Tenney: Collage #1 (Blue Suede)

James Tenney was the composer and music theorist who awoke my interest for Musica Nova. It was through him that I discovered Nancarrow, Ives, and the other masters of modern music. A truly seminal artist!

By the time I started my passion for the music of Tenney there was only one CD available on Amazon: Selected Works, 1961-1969. These were early compositions. I bought it and after listening the eight pieces, I wrote my impressions here on the blog.

Meanwhile other CDs were released and lovers of his music started to publish videos with his works on youTube.

Here is the first piece from that CD that I bought: Collage #1 (Blue Suede). It is a tape collage of a one of Presley's recordings, with Blue Suede Shoes rock.

The work of Tenney consists of four variations on Blue Suede. Here is what I wrote about it in 2007:

Tenney created the variations on the rock by using the techniques of tape music - he took the tape record and processed it by speed changes, reversal, head echo, filtering, and the like. There are four variations: the first is worked on the drums, omitting voice; the second introduces some higher pitched timbres in dialog with the sounds from the first section, and you begin to recognize the original score; the third section has the voice much clearer; the last variation takes the voice in contrapuntal relationship with the other sounds. It is deconstruction and reconstruction from samples.The rockability is kept - however Tenney takes care to shock us now and then with unexpected rhythm breaks.

(video by orchestron)

(James Tenney)