Cage, the group’s fourth release on Ambiances Magnétiques, is at once entirely consistent with the group’s ethos and a radical departure. Those familiar with Pierre-Yves Martel’s broader body of work –– with or without Quartetski stalwarts Philippe Lauzier, Bernard Falaise, and Isaiah Ceccarelli –– will recognise qualities in these pieces, Four6 and One7, that characterise his own music more directly than the group’s previous, excellent releases: Thoroughly deliberate sound-making, attention to timbres in their manifold richnesses, space, and a calm spirit of discovery. And yet, like all Quartetski projects, Cage declares its fidelity to the radical vision of its composer-namesake. In this way, by underscoring the affinities shared by both interpreters and composer, this may be the most ‘personal’ Quartetski record, but achieves this condition, paradoxically, by purging the personal, ridding this music’s execution of the ego in such a satisfying, consummately Cagean way. — Scott Thomson
FOUR6
For any way of producing sounds (vocalization, singing, playing of an instrument or instruments, electronics, etc.)
Choose twelve different sounds with fixed characteristics (amplitude, overtone structure, etc.) Play within the time brackets given. When the time brackets are connected by a diagonal line, they are relatively close together. When performed as a solo, the first player’s part is used and the piece is called ONE7.
For Pauline Oliveros to celebrate her sixtieth birthday and for Joan La Barbara, William Winant, and Leonard Stein.
John Cage
March 1992
New York City
ONE7 (for four players)
For any pitched instrument able to play sustained notes.
Each player derives a chromatic tone row obtained using chance operations. All four players use part 1 and play within the time brackets given. Registers are not fixed. The ensemble thinks and acts as one individual, playing together as much as possible, or not.
For Joane Hétu and Danielle Palardy Roger.
Pierre-Yves Martel
September 2021
Montréal
credits
released March 14, 2022
Isaiah Ceccarelli — percussion, synthesizer
Bernard Falaise — electric guitar
Philippe Lauzier — bass clarinet, synthesizer
Pierre-Yves Martel — electric bass, sine waves
Recorded by Quartetski, winter 2021
Mixed and edited by Pierre-Yves Martel, Continuum Sound (Montreal)
Mastered by Ross Murray
Photo and design by Frédérique Laliberté
Produced by P.Y. Martel
Executive Producer Joanne Hétu
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As you might guess from the title, this is strange and eerie synth music meant to conjure a mystical film where all is not what it seems. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 14, 2023
A fantastic trio of musicians who explore the meditative side of improvisation and try to go beyond the boundaries of instruments and find new sonic positions. Epochal music that sounds like the last evening rays of light. jiristepan