★Edition Wandelweiser
musik fur orgel und eine(n) tonsetzer(in)
2013 release **
"what do you do, if you work with just intonation and wish to write a piece for organ? you have to deal with the relation between equally tempered and over- or undertonal (just) intonation. 2001 i had several opportunities to make a study of some wonderful instruments. this eventually put me on the path towards this composition.in this piece only those frequencies of the organ sound that have close to whole-numbered ratios (+/- 6 cents) to a fundamental (in this case C’ at about …
for seven players
Seven (1988), 15 similar events (2002) Let’s assume, that art music as a field of creative cognitive activity is interrelated with the scientific paradigm and that its structure, therefore, at least partially reflects the contemporary way of looking at the world. The essential paradigmatic elements of the early 21st century would then entail all kinds of demands on music. Having lost certainties, for example, the issue of probabilities should be broached. Fields of possibilities should be desi…
One9
“sounds brushed into existence as in oriental calligraphy" (Cage) the sounds in one9 are single tones and chords, up to six part harmonies. how do sounds come into existence, how do they gain focus, how do they resolve, how do they merge into one another, how can one quietly and attentively, in all modesty, follow their unfolding? these are the questions that guided edwin alexander buchholz in his interpretation of the piece. over the years he played one9 time and again - for himself an…
early music
“The room I entered was a dream of this room.” “It wasn't the hole in the landscape that gladdened us, it was the invitation to the weather to drop in anytime.” John Ashbery (both quotations from: Your Name Here 2000) “...all the hard dry studied Rules that ever was prescribed, will not enable any Person to form an Air any more than the bare Knowledge of the four and twenty Letters, and strict Grammatical Rules will qualify a Scholar for composing a Piece of Poetry, or properly adjust…
Empty Words
"Empty Words" begins by omitting sentences, has only phrases, words, syllables and letters. The second part omits the phrases, has only words, syllables and letters. The third part omits the words, has only syllables and letters. And the last part ... has nothing but letters and sounds. A mix of words, syllables, and letters obtained by subjecting the Journal of Henry David Thoreau to a series of I Ching chance operations. What was interesting to me was making English less understandab…
Beuger.Cage
2004 release **
Few composers have the self-control seen here to allow the silence that surrounds all we do to be so present, to bring to the forefront that which is covered by all of our daily activities, only present when we let ourselves realize the stillness at the base of all action, all sound. The regular presence of notes in calme étendue (oboe) provides for the listener a feeling similar to that of a light on top of a lighthouse as it regularly turns in the night – a feeling of grounding…
Accordion Music
2007 release **
Fold in; fold out: the breathing of the accordion. On this CD the accordion unfolds in a very special way, unusually close to the instrument. Four works, four worlds that seem to know each other; refer to each other like a greeting from far away.Hearing John Cage's ,,Cheap Imitation" played on accordion gives you the impression of folk music from an unknown, probably non-existent country. This music comes from nowhere, goes nowhere, is forever on its way.....Like ,,Sam Lazaro Bro…
Transparent city (volumes 1 and 2)
Field recordings, electronic sound. Field recordings made in greater Los Angeles from December, 2004 to August, 2006. Each recording is an unedited ten-minute take from a single location. Sine tones and mixing completed in Michael Pisaro's home studio in Santa Clarita, California. Each ten-minute piece is followed by two minutes of silence. Recordings were mastered with home stereo playback in mind. In general, it is best to set the volume control on your system to a normal level (that is,…
Harmony Series 11-16
In the 'Harmony Series 11-16', very small events are happening in every nook and cranny of the music, and these subtle changes give magical effects to the music. This is in fact not magic at all - all the events are due to the theoretical structure of the music, but the way Pisaro incorporates them into his compositions is so subtle and natural, that the whole impression on his music becomes poetic. When I listen to each piece while carefully paying attention to the details, I feel that the nuan…
Transparent city (volumes 3 and 4)
2007 release **
"Between 2004 and 2006, Pisaro began a series of field recordings. Each time, it consisted of a single sound recording made in Los Angeles, in a single location, strategically placed so that nothing stood out, places without a center, blurred spaces at which Pisaro pointed a microphone without moving. From this series of recordings was born Transparent City, two monumental and epic double CDs in their duration: they exceed 4 hours and 40 minutes in fact. Each disc is composed of …
Dazwischen / immer anders
2004 release **
dazwischen for organ (2000)a very low tonea very high airy soundonce in a while a tone in between, a noise in betweenorgan sounds, organ noisesroom noise, ambient noise...once in a while a sound in between:between music and non-musicimmer anders for organ (2002)the organ: a wind instrumentair flow – throughout the roomsometimes almost imperceptibly softmore noise than sound, almost just the air flowingdifferent coloured air streamsdifferent coloured silences between
aus den fliegenden blttern eines fahrenden waldhornisten
'aus den fliegenden blttern eines fahrenden waldhornisten' (2013) ('from the flying leaves of a traveling horn player') for horn (F. Wilfried Krüger, horn).
EVA-MARIA HOUBEN (born 1955) studied Music Education at Folkwang-Musikhochschule Essen and the organ with Gisbert Schneider. Following her exams she taught both German and Music Education at Secondary School. She received her doctorate and postdoctoral lecturing qualification in musicology and was called for lectures at Gerhard-Mercator-Un…
Air - works for flutes and organ
'ein schlummer (a slumber)' (2013) for flute(s) and organ. 'aufhören (coming to an end)' (2013) for recorders: g-bass, c'-tenor, c-bass (1 performer). 'atmen V (breathing V)' (2014) for recorder(s) (1 performer) and organ. Ruth Walser, recorders. Barbara Müller-Hammerli, organ. Eva-Maria Houben, organ.
EVA-MARIA HOUBEN (born 1955) studied Music Education at Folkwang-Musikhochschule Essen and the organ with Gisbert Schneider. Following her exams she taught both German and Music Education at Se…
Von da nach da
2007 release **
von da nach da55 images for three performers (2005)not all of the 55 images have to be played during a performance.the performers make a selection and play them in any order.on this cd 17 images appear and disppear."image" might mean: a musical image.but also: a scenery, a situation, a place.
Works for flute
2007 release **
calme, silence, solitude for piccolo solo, quelques riens for mauritius flute and moments musicaux for bass flute constitute a trilogy, composed by eva-maria houben for flutist anne horstmann.they may also be performed individually.the mauritius flute is a traverse flute made of speckled bamboo.its seven holes are burned into the wood.the scores of this trilogy contain the note: "hector berlioz abgehört" ("upon listening to hector berlioz").the titles allude to french composer h…
Orgelbuch
14 five-minute pieces from Eva-Maria Houben's 'Organ Book'. Eva-Maria Houben (organ).
Works for piano
Composer: Eva-Maria Houben. Performer: Eva-Maria Houben (piano). 'the sound of the piano decays. it cannot be sustained. I let it loose time and again. it appears by disappearing; starting to disappear just after the attack. in disappearing it begins to live, to change. the piano: an instrument, that allows me to hear how many ways sound can disappear. there seems to be no end to disappearance. I can hear, how listening becomes the awareness of fading sound.' 'Klavier' (2003). 'Drei chorle…
works for double bass
2008 release **
archipelagos and nachtstück allow hearing to take place:partials are alluded to and unfold,merging into multifaceted, richly coloured harmonies.music happens all by itself, seemingly uncomposed –like the sound of the aeolian harp, its strings set in motion by a passing wind.
Works for tromba marina
2007 release **
ein liederbuch13 songs – to be played in free order, all or in small groups, or just a single song.the tromba marina sings – and dances.it sings – and moves in varying tempi:andante sostenuto, allegro ma non troppo, adagio, allegretto moto, comodo, adagissimo,allegretto quasi andantino, molto moderato, largo… dreisätzig the tromba marina can be so many things.a kettledrum, a bass drum, percussion: timpano;a small trumpet, a piccolo trumpet - with melody and accompaniment: clarino…
Chamber Works
2015 release **
"Margriet Hoenderdos, a student of influential Dutch composer Ton de Leeuw, was still honing her own distinctive voice at the time of her premature death in 2010. The precariousness of simply existing is effectively evoked in a 21 minute woodwind quintet in which she responded to a poem by Hans Faverey, written as he endured his own terminal illness. Sombre and harmonically anxious, this music resembles a physical construction that appears sturdy, yet has an unnerving tendency to…