Written between 1963 and 1967, Treatise is a graphic musical score comprising 193 pages of lines, symbols, and various geometric or abstract shapes that largely eschew conventional musical notation. Implicit in the title is a reference to the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, which was of particular inspiration to Cardew in composing the work.[1] The score is not accompanied by any explicit instructions to the performers in how to perform the work, or what sound-producing means are to be used. Although the bottom of each page has two five-line musical staves, this is apparently not meant to suggest piano or other keyboard instrument(s), only to indicate that the graphic elements are musical and not purely artistic in character.
Although the score allows for absolute interpretive freedom (no one interpretation will sound like another), the work is not normally played spontaneously, as Cardew had previously suggested that performers devise in advance their own rules and methods for interpreting and performing the work. There are, however, almost infinite possibilities for the interpretation of Treatise that fall within the implications of the piece and general principles of experimental music performance in the late 1960s, including presentation as visual art and map-reading.[2]
The British composer Julian Anderson describes Treatise as "very suggestive musically...what's wrong with playing, say 10 pages of Treatise only using the white notes, or only using maybe the Dorian mode." The few available recordings, or more accurately, recordings of realisations of the score, all adopt a relative slow tempo and a sonic world, which "sounds like AMM".[3]
Subsequently Cardew embraced Maoism and wholeheartedly repudiated this and other works of his avant-garde period.[4] A savage indictment of Treatise may be seen in a speech delivered by Cardew at the ‘International Symposium on the Problematic of Today’s Musical Notation’ held in Rome in October 1972, as transcribed in his highly polemical book Stockhausen Serves Imperialism (1974).[5] Curiously, Cardew did not withdraw Treatise from publication, despite his repudiation.
In popular cultureedit
Sonic Youth play a 3:29 minute excerpt of page 183 of Treatise on their album SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century (1999).
Referencesedit
^Dennis, Brian (June 1991). "Cardew's 'Treatise' (mainly the visual aspects)". Tempo (177): 10–16. doi:10.1017/S0040298200013516. S2CID 143459030.
^Anderson, Virginia (December 2006). ""Well, It's a Vertebrate …": Performer Choice in Cardew's Treatise". Journal of Musicological Research. 25 (3–4): 291–317. doi:10.1080/01411890600840578. S2CID 192206505.
^Anderson, J. and Dingle, C. Julian Anderson - Dialogues on Listening, Composing and Culture. Woodbridge, The Boydell Press, 2020, p.139.
^Cardew, Cornelius (1981). "Wiggly Lines and Wobbly Music". In Battcock, Gregory (ed.). Breaking the Sound Barrier: a Critical Anthology of the New Music. New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Cardew, Cornelius (1974). Stockhausen serves imperialism, and other articles : with commentary and notes(PDF). London: Latimer New Dimensions. ISBN9780901539298.
External linksedit
An online animated analysis of Treatise 2006-02-19 at the Wayback Machine at the Block Museum Website
Online recordings of Treatise by the Seattle Improv Meeting 2006-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
A draft version of Virginia Anderson, '"Well, It's a Vertebrate" Performer Choice in Cardew's Treatise'.
April 12, 2024
treatise, music, treatise, musical, composition, british, composer, cornelius, cardew, 1936, treatiseby, cornelius, cardewpage, twenty, five, scorecomposed1963, 1967published1967, gallery, upstairs, press, buffalo, movements1scoring193, page, graphic, scorecon. Treatise is a musical composition by British composer Cornelius Cardew 1936 81 Treatiseby Cornelius CardewPage twenty five of the scoreComposed1963 1967Published1967 The Gallery Upstairs Press Buffalo N Y Movements1Scoring193 page graphic scoreContents 1 Summary 2 In popular culture 3 References 4 External linksSummary editWritten between 1963 and 1967 Treatise is a graphic musical score comprising 193 pages of lines symbols and various geometric or abstract shapes that largely eschew conventional musical notation Implicit in the title is a reference to the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein which was of particular inspiration to Cardew in composing the work 1 The score is not accompanied by any explicit instructions to the performers in how to perform the work or what sound producing means are to be used Although the bottom of each page has two five line musical staves this is apparently not meant to suggest piano or other keyboard instrument s only to indicate that the graphic elements are musical and not purely artistic in character Although the score allows for absolute interpretive freedom no one interpretation will sound like another the work is not normally played spontaneously as Cardew had previously suggested that performers devise in advance their own rules and methods for interpreting and performing the work There are however almost infinite possibilities for the interpretation of Treatise that fall within the implications of the piece and general principles of experimental music performance in the late 1960s including presentation as visual art and map reading 2 The British composer Julian Anderson describes Treatise as very suggestive musically what s wrong with playing say 10 pages of Treatise only using the white notes or only using maybe the Dorian mode The few available recordings or more accurately recordings of realisations of the score all adopt a relative slow tempo and a sonic world which sounds like AMM 3 Subsequently Cardew embraced Maoism and wholeheartedly repudiated this and other works of his avant garde period 4 A savage indictment of Treatise may be seen in a speech delivered by Cardew at the International Symposium on the Problematic of Today s Musical Notation held in Rome in October 1972 as transcribed in his highly polemical book Stockhausen Serves Imperialism 1974 5 Curiously Cardew did not withdraw Treatise from publication despite his repudiation In popular culture editSonic Youth play a 3 29 minute excerpt of page 183 of Treatise on their album SYR4 Goodbye 20th Century 1999 References edit Dennis Brian June 1991 Cardew s Treatise mainly the visual aspects Tempo 177 10 16 doi 10 1017 S0040298200013516 S2CID 143459030 Anderson Virginia December 2006 Well It s a Vertebrate Performer Choice in Cardew s Treatise Journal of Musicological Research 25 3 4 291 317 doi 10 1080 01411890600840578 S2CID 192206505 Anderson J and Dingle C Julian Anderson Dialogues on Listening Composing and Culture Woodbridge The Boydell Press 2020 p 139 Cardew Cornelius 1981 Wiggly Lines and Wobbly Music In Battcock Gregory ed Breaking the Sound Barrier a Critical Anthology of the New Music New York a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Cardew Cornelius 1974 Stockhausen serves imperialism and other articles with commentary and notes PDF London Latimer New Dimensions ISBN 9780901539298 External links editAn online animated analysis of Treatise Archived 2006 02 19 at the Wayback Machine at the Block Museum Website Online recordings of Treatise by the Seattle Improv Meeting Archived 2006 06 19 at the Wayback Machine A draft version of Virginia Anderson Well It s a Vertebrate Performer Choice in Cardew s Treatise Animated electronic realization of Treatise by Shawn Feeney Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Treatise music amp oldid 1201499105, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
