In his notes to Organ And Silence, composed in 2000 and performed here by Wesley Roberts, Colorado born
composerTom Johnson writes: "Many composers talk about the importance of silence in music, but one does not
actually hear much of it in the classical repertoire, or any other repertoire. In fact, silences longer than t
In his notes to Organ And Silence, composed in 2000 and performed here by Wesley Roberts, Colorado born
composerTom Johnson writes: "Many composers talk about the importance of silence in music, but one does not
actually hear much of it in the classical repertoire, or any other repertoire. In fact, silences longer than three
seconds are extremely rare in all kinds of music."
(…)
This accords with published statements by Sugimoto and Malfatti, yet Johnson's approach feels less radical. Once a
student of Morton Feldman, he is concerned with how little he can notate and still sustain interest. This suggests a
more generous concession to the audience, though Johnson admits a growing appreciation of silences as singular
entities, along with a decision to "permit as much silence as possible, without allowing the music to actually stop".
His piece lasts for 61'50" and begins with a flourish. The activity decreases, contained in sections of block chords or
pure, relatively neutral tones played in repeated clusters, phrases or single bursts. Recorded in the Chapel of the
Sisters of Loretto in Kentucky, the ambience (and instrument) courts ecclesiastical associations. Messiaen's organ
meditations are never far away. Inevitably, this enfolds the debatable view that silence is somehow more spiritual
than not-silence. Organ And Silence is a dramatically effective work, though it sits more comfortably within a
tradition than Futatsu.
This is truly difficult music to analyse, or live with, though clearly there is a lot to be said. From this experiential
and intellectual richness, I find it far more substantial than the work of an artist like Martin Creed, creator of The
Lights Turning On And Off. We should pender on the fact that Creed might feasibly be argued over in pub talk,
thanks to the Turner Prize, whereas near-silent music subsists at the far edges of obscurity. Something fucked up
in the culture?
