Search - Pauline Oliveros, Springfield Accordion Orchestra :: The Wanderer

"A knockout piece given a knockout performance ... Both pieces are quite beautiful ... What one hears in the piece is a large group of accordion players having a great time playing challenging and thoughtful music which makes no concessions to either contemporary fashion or the presumed intractability of the instrument." -- OPTION The Wanderer is based on a single modal scale (B C# D D# E F# G#) and rhythmic modes based on a meter consisting of 3/4 and 3/8. Part I, Song, is intended to explore the unique resonant qualities of accordion reeds through long sounds. Subtle variations come about from differences in tuning and air pressure. Part II, Dance, demonstrates the sharp accenting power of the accordion bellows in a mixture of cross rhythms characteristic of jigs, reels, batucadas, Bulgars, klezmer forms, Cajun dances, and music of other diverse cultures. The Wanderer was composed in November 1982 especially for the Springfield Accordion Orchestra, directed by Sam Falcetti. This recording documents The Wanderer's world premiere, as it was performed on January 27, 1983 at Marymount Manhattan Theatre. The orchestra consists of twenty accordions, two bass accordions, and five percussionists, with Pauline Oliveros as soloist and Falcetti conducting. Horse Sings from Cloud, written in 1975, is one of Oliveros's best-known works. Like most of her Sonic Meditations, it can be performed vocally and/or instrumentally, solo or in collaboration. This time, Horse Sings from Cloud is performed in ensemble. Joining Pauline Oliveros (bandoneion) are Heloise Gold (harmonium), Julia Haines (accordion), and Linda Montano (concertina). This quartet version incorporates the microtonal differences in tuning of the selected instruments, creating reed sounds somewhat similar to the shimmering of a Balinese gamelan.