EAM (review)

EAM is a compilation of electroacoustic studio compositions by Barry Schrader, created between 1986 and 2000. This innova recording, released by the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Composers Forum, includes a simply designed booklet which, intriguingly, suggests that "these works can be understood and appreciated without reference to any notes," while at the same time offering an introduction with links to musique concrète and digital synthesis, and ending by saying that some comments would be useful. It is fair to assume that the introductory passages and other comments were penned by the composer since no other credit is given.

The overall feeling of this CD is of easy-listening music, simple and direct, but also commonplace. Well-known digital sonorities are present in all the pieces, and one can imagine the composer working on a personal computer with a rich assortment of pre-set instruments, voices, and a variety of treatments. The liner notes do not offer any technical information on these matters.

The first track, Bachaham (1986), consists of "treatments" on two works by J. S. Bach, the Fugue in C minor from the Well Tempered Clavier, and Air on the G String, from the Orchestral Suite in D. The extended sonorities derived from the famous Air are the more interesting. The modifications applied to the fugal part are naïve in the sense of relying on speed changes and multi-tracking. I might even be tempted to think what MIDI and cut-and-paste can accomplish (or not).

My favorite piece on the CD is Ground (1998), which again resorts to a link with the past, and as a "contemporary" passacaglia or chaconne, is quite successful. The surging waves of sound—pitched not very clearly so one thinks of frequency areas instead of notes—demonstrate a good control of the careful use of distortion and noise content. The climactic upsurge toward the 8-min mark prepares the listener pretty well for the re-introduction of the repetitive motif. Ground would be quite a good piece for an acousmatic sound projection.

Dance from the Outside (1989) mixes recorded sounds with those electronically produced. The manipulation of sound materials is basic and simple. The light touch of a dance rhythm helps to sustain interest while listening to this piece. With a duration of four minutes, brevity is in this case also a virtue.

Still Lives (2000) is a suite of five pieces simply titled "Still Life 1," "Still Life 2," etc. This work is commonplace and not very imaginative. Perhaps intended as improvisations created using pre-sets, the result is somewhat predictable.

If duration can be considered an indicator, the last composition of this collection, Triptych (2000), at 20 minutes, would promise good musical ideas requiring a formal structuring able to support such length. The, by comparison to the rest, very extended liner notes refer the reader to notions of "a theory of primary dimensions: pitch and rhythm," then, by a detour, refer to "a third possible primary dimension: timbre." It all ends with the statement: "Since the pitch and rhythmic material keeps repeating, the quality of this information will decrease with each repetition." Here is where Mr. Schrader feels that he is bringing about changes of timbre, changes going from a simple state to one of complex noise. Well, ambitious planning perhaps, but the music of Triptych is not too different from the other works on this CD. Some percussion sounds (with a rhythmical feel) are brought in about six minutes into the piece; each successive presentation of this "percussive" music is modulated differently, but with limited musical results. Pre-sets and a sequencer seem to be at the core of this important dividing element within the work.

If the goal of this compilation was to achieve some sort of "new age music" status, the effort is a successful one...