In the nineties, in the multimedia installations WHAT IS MUSIC, following on from the cult group KILHETS (1979–80), I once again dealt with “silence” and “harmonic pollution” in a composer’s…
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In the nineties, in the multimedia installations WHAT IS MUSIC, following on from the cult group KILHETS (1979–80), I once again dealt with “silence” and “harmonic pollution” in a composer’s work/head. Commissioned by the BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS (New York City), I wrote a conceptual score for several composers, DAY AS A CREATION – i (1995), with the message “yes + no = i (interactive/collective Self) – music is communication.”
The piece became a reality again in 1999 when my friend Stanislav Doležal invited me to perform a collaborative work of harmonization for the Prague Spring Festival. I chose the sound of one of his singing bowls, which could be easily harmonized with a ring modulator. The result was a 24+1 hour project of live musical communication entitled A GOOD HARMONIZATION. We recorded the singing bowls (1999) and performed the world premiere of the BUDDHA CHANTS IN THE DARK version (2022) at the AUDIOEGO HiFi studio in the KLUB NA KULTURU program.
With this project I recalled the friendly collaboration between John Cage and Alvin Lucier. John, the composer of 4’33” (1952), assisted Alvin in 1965 with his work Music For Solo Performer. Alvin’s alpha brain waves were recorded on stage in real time during the concert. John amplified the waves through the loudspeaker system to make the percussion instruments sound. While in John’s composition 4’33” the listener does not know what, if anything, the performer is thinking, the performance of Music For Solo Performer directly demonstrates the composer’s/performer’s brain activity.
In our case, it is the opposite process, by which we can recall Johann Sebastian Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (1722), who performs his prelude–and–fugue form in all major and minor keys, similar to how we harmonized the pulsating sound of a single singing bowl in the audible and inaudible range using a ring modulator. / Miroslav Noe
℗&© Miroslav Noe (Šimáček) Day As A Creation – i (1995), version for singing bowl and four ring modulators A Good Harmonization (1999–2025) & Buddha Chants In The Dark (1999–2024) / performer © Stanislav Doležal (1999) / sound design of the live performance Milan Cimfe (A Good Harmonization, 2025) / studio sound design and editing Ivan Horák (Buddha Chants in the Dark, 2024) / cover design © Miroslav Noe (2025) / english copy-editing Derek Paton / consulting Tomáš Karlík and Karolína Kalandrová Karlíková / print production Ivan Prokop / printing Kartex / vinyl mastering and cutting Pavel Karlík and Stanislav Tadra, SONO Records (2025) / pressing RECORD PRESSING a.s. (2025) / published © Nakladatelství Svět (2025)
