KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ B.A.S.E. - Bay Area Synthesizer Ensemble
Analog Audio
Event Type
MusicOrigin
KPFAIdentifier
AM.1974.02.23.c2Program Length
43 minDates
1974-02-23 | broadcast| 1974-02-23 | created
Description
In 1974, the first and only "Bay Area Synthesizer Ensemble" (B.A.S.E.) was formed. This was an ensemble of electronic music studios (!) UC Berkeley, a room at KPFA radio station a half mile from UC, San Francisco Conservatory and San Francisco State University. The studios were connected by special telephone lines which all led into the master mix at KPFA where incoming signals were mixed electronically and then broadcast in real time. The performance broadcast took place on the evening of February 23, 1974.The compositions commissioned for the affair were Responsive Reading and Thirty Seconds by Gareth Loy, Music for B.A.S.E. by Anthony Gnazzo, Quartet for Synthesizers by George Burt, BASEment by Alden Jenks, Recycled Radio by Jan Pusina and BASEball and A Ludwig Washout by Herbert Bielawa.
Each studio had a production crew as follows: At San Francisco State were Gareth Loy, Rich McGinnis and Peter Donaldson. At the San Francisco Conservatory were Alden Jenks, Robert David and Neil Rolnick. In the back room at KPFA were George Burt, Barth Gehls, Valerie Farrell (Hielbron) and myself. On the UC campus were Anthony Gnazzo, Barbara Jazwinski, Cardell Ho, Robert Coburn, Peter Lopez and Jan Pusina.
There was yet another composer represented on the program; Mozart. The work was his String Quartet in C Major. We stationed musician at each location where they each had a microphone and head set. At a fifth location (SF State ) in a different room was stationed a director of the ensemble, Laszlo Varga. Varga literally verbalized performance signals to the players. Beginning attacks, cut-offs and general tempo processing were done verbally by Varga. Since there was no physical, visual or audio contact now available to them as there usually is in string quartet performance. Varga's signals were absolutely necessary and, in the end, gratefully sought by the players.
Although the players could all hear Varga's instructions on their head sets, only their playing was mixed for broadcast. The arrangement was not a happy one for the players, because it was so foreign to them. In a genuine musical sense such an arrangement has little to recommend for it. But the idea was simply to see if it could be done using the technology of the day. In the end, with great patience and good will from the players (plus understandable grumbling along the way) the performance came across with astonishing rhythmic accuracy, and noticeable expressive power. A innocent listener could be fooled.
Genres
Electro-Acoustic / ElectronicMusical Selections
Responsive Reading / Gareth Loy -- Thirty Seconds / Gareth Loy -- Music for B.A.S.E. / Anthony Gnazzo -- String Quartet in C Major / A. Mozart -- Quartet for Synthesizers / George Burt -- BASEment / Alden Jenks -- Recycled Radio / Jan Pusina -- BASEball / Herbert Bielawa -- A Ludwig Washout / Herbert BielawaSubjects
Electro-acousticElectronic music
Synthesizer music
String quartets
Related places
Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)San Francisco (Calif.) (was recorded at)
Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)
Related Entities
Bay Area Synthesizer EnsembleB.A.S.E.
Loy, D. Gareth
Gnazzo, Anthony, 1936-
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791
Burt, George, 1929-
Jenks, Alden
Pusina, Jan
Bielawa, Herbert
Varga, Laszlo, 1924-