[sdiy] Re: [AH] Chance music - more

[Scott E.]

I know this is an old thread, but I am way behind in my reading...

My recollection is somewhat vague as the story of this performance was 
related to me almost 35 years ago by the bassoonist who participated, so 
please forgive any inaccuracies or omissions on my part. A quartet of 
players were involved, including the bassoonist, a cellist, a flautist 
and one other instrumentalist that I don't recall. After being seated in 
a circle, dressed in their tuxedos and formal dresses, a gas range was 
wheeled into the center of the group. On the range was a skillet filled 
with oil and the title ingredient "Popcorn". The group then donned eye 
glasses with music staves drawn onto them. The popcorn popper (gas 
stove) was turned on and the performance began.

There was no activity for some time but anticipation was everywhere. 
When the popcorn began to pop, each performer played the "notes" they 
saw in their glasses. The performance got quite "heated" at one point, 
with the performers wildly playing and the popcorn oil splattering 
everywhere, including their clothing. The audience apparently enjoyed 
the piece immensely. Wish I could have been there.

Regards, Scott E.
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Les Mizzell wrote:

>
> I so really wish I had a recording of my "most famous" chance piece, 
> which I've discussed before, I just forget where....
>
> We used a small orchestra of around 20 players, and my co-conspirator 
> and I had a transparency of a black piece of orchestral score made for 
> us. This was placed on an overhead projector and projected onto a 
> screen where both the players and audience could clearly see it.  The 
> "score" paper was surrounded by glass on all four sides, so what you 
> ended up with looked sorta like an aquarium with the score paper for 
> the bottom.
>
> When the piece was ready to commence, we released two crickets, a 
> millipede, several "rolly-polly" bugs, a beetle or two and a 
> caterpillar onto the 'score'.
>
> The one moment I remember that was really great was when the 
> caterpillar crawled over onto the oboe staff and one of the 
> rolly-polly bugs "counterpointed" between the other winds and the 1st 
> violin while the millipede ambled back an forth between the cello and 
> bass.
>
> Schoenberg would have been proud....
>