Episode Fourteen - Annson Kenney

Annson Kenney was a dynamic presence in Philadelphia from the mid-sixties until his death in late 1981. A visual artist, writer, performer, and composer, Annson was a difficult man to pin down. Although initially trained in music, his imagination and introspection led him far from his role as a contrabass player. In the 1970’s Annson designed a remarkable series of works using classic luminous tubing (neon tubes) that explored a variety of linguistic concepts. Still, he continued making performative works for himself and members of the Relache Ensemble with whom he had close working and personal relationships. On this episode we’ll listen to some of those sonic works and learn about Annson through commentary by his friends and collaborators who share their memories and insights to his life and work.

Critical Band, an extraordinary composition by James Tenney has been described as a “sound poem,” and an “aural flower” slowly unfolding as the pitch tableau becomes evident and clear to the listener. John Cage, a long-time friend of Jim Tenney’s wrote him after hearing the premiere performance a congratulatory note, “…if this is harmony, I take back everything I said to you in the past.” (John and Jim had two quite different concepts of Western harmony.) The world premiere of Critical Band is the single work to be heard and discussed on this episode of the Relache Chronicles, performed by the Relache Ensemble in 1989. It has been described by former members of Relache as the most profoundly important work composed for the group. Listen carefully as you find your way to the critical band, an aural phenomenon that is both revealing and soothing.

William Duckworth – known as Bill to his friends – was a composer, educator and author who wrote for contemporary ensembles and soloists throughout a busy compositional career in the mid to late twentieth century. He was a professor of music at Bucknell University and published five books on twentieth century music and theory. At the time of his passing in 2012, Bill was developing large scale interactive digital works for the internet in collaboration with his wife, Nora Farrell, a computer software designer. He is best known for “The Time Curve Preludes, a work for piano solo and “Southern Harmonies” for choral ensemble. On this episode of The Relache Chronicles we will discuss and listen to an early work of Bill’s titled “Pitch City Breakdown” for amplified piano and “Simple Songs About Sex and War “for mezzo-soprano and synthesizer. Both works are played and sung by members of The Relache Ensemble, with whom he often collaborated.