This post will chronicle a recent sojourn to Sheffield, England, where I and my partner Glen Gillis presented an academic paper at the 2017 British Forum for Ethnomusicology Conference.
After flying into Manchester, we took a train ride through the lovely rolling South Yorkshire countryside to Sheffield.
Sheffield Panorama
Our Sheffield residence was the Royal Victoria (Holiday Inn), a classic old hotel that was formerly visited by both Queen Victoria (thus the name), as well as the future Queen Elizabeth.
Royal Victoria Sheffield (aka Fawlty Towers)
Coincidentally, the conference took place during the World Snooker Championships, a huge annual event in Sheffield.
World Snooker Headquarters – Sheffield Winter Gardens
Sheffield’s many hills and the quantity of our instruments and audio equipment necessitated numerous Uber rides to get around. (Yes, Uber is everywhere!)
Apart from the conference our visit afforded the opportunity to sample the local fare (via visit to Sheffield’s numerous pubs).
The Brown Bear [a downtown classic]Glen at the Red Deer, our go-to watering hole
The Shakespeare [aka “Shakes”]
A definite highlight was the amazing selection of cask conditioned (hand pull) craft beers at the Kelham Island Tavern, located in the old industrial district of Sheffield.
And of course, the first Spring coming out appearance of one of the many local Morris Dance Clubs (further explanation is impossible).
The BFE Conference took place in The Diamond, a futuristic educational venue on the University of Sheffield campus.
The Diamond (referred to as the “Cheese Grater” by locals)
Our hour-long lecture-demonstration featured the premiers of 2 electro-acoustic pieces for alto saxophone and didgeridoo, co-composed and performed live by Glen Gillis & James Cunningham.
And a tribute to a local historical figure.
“Mr. Hood” Duo Gillis Cunningham (2017)
In addition to the IR capture at the Sheffield City Hall…
…the trip also afforded opportunity to collect some impulse responses from a variety of other sites including the Royal Victoria Great Central Room…
The Royal Victoria Great Central Room
…and several different locations inside a WWII-era bomb shelter in Stockport, just outside of Manchester.
Plan of underground tunnel system.Public shelter inside one of the sandstone tunnels.My IR capture setup in the gentleman’s latrine.La Crapper
I have just returned from a whirlwind trip into the frozen north, where I participated in the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) Region 9 Conference in Edmonton, Alberta.
The first leg of my trip was from Ft. Lauderdale to Saskatoon, in the neighboring province of Saskatchewan to meet my partner in crime Glen Gillis, where I was greeted by some Canadian sunshine.
The second leg of our trip consisted of a six-hour road trip from Saskatoon to Edmonton through moose-infested Canadian prairie.
University of Alberta, and downtown Edmonton
The main performance venue at U of A was the physically and acoustically beautiful Convocation Hall.
Our sixty-minute lecture demonstration was based on the conference theme: “Coming Together”
The presentation began with a technological overview of our electro-acoustic approach to composition and performance.
Alas, it was time to leave Edmonton… naturally, we had to drive through a blizzard on the arduous return trip back to Saskatoon. No moose were harmed during the voyage.
This is my take on my continuing electro-acoustic research and performance art, which I presented at a Music at Noon lecture at Florida Atlantic University on 1/27/17. Although it chronicles some of my 2016 sabbatical research, I tried not to make it resemble a “What I did on my ‘summer vacation’ report.”
“Aurora Borealis Live” – National Saxophone Alliance Conference
The third leg of my sabbatical began on October 12th, with a scenic fly-by of Mt. Hood, in Oregon’s Cascade Mt. Range.
Mt. Hood
While the trip afforded the pleasant opportunity to have a quality visit with my brother Michael (aka Superhero Spot), as well as master gardener, carousel wood carver, and my mom, Suzette…
Michael and Suzette in Front of Mom’s Favorite Volunteer Project – The Salem Carousel
…a main goal of my research was to capture the ambience of the Cunningham family heirloom, an 1875 Steinway rectangular grand piano, permanently housed in Suzette’s living room.
The Cunningham 1875 Steinway Rectangular Grand
For years I have been listening to the expressive piano improvisations played on the family Steinway by my brother Michael, and the sabbatical visit allowed allowed for some serious recording opportunities. The following selection is an excerpted from an extended solo piano improvisation played by Michael in his own indomitable style.
“Panache No. 1” Michael Cunningham, 10/16/16
The recording session also yielded four piano-didgeridoo duets, including this piece featuring the family Steinway and my newly re-gifted handmade “Maple Syrup” didgeridoo.
Old Man River (excerpt) for 1875 Steinway and Maple Syrup Didgeridoo.
My Oregon trip also provided the opportunity to research prospective ambient capture, recording, and performance sites. And, thanks to the guidance of my former University of Oregon college roommate, Tom Fullmer, I was introduced me to “The Grotto” (aka The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother), a federally-recognized sacred site encompassing 62 acres within the Portland city limits. https://thegrotto.org/
Thomas J. Fullmer – Executive Director of the Grotto in the Upper Garden
The Grotto offers numerous potential ambient locales, including the main grotto, which was officially dedicated in 1924…
The Grotto
The Chapel of St. Mary…
St. Mary’s Chapel
A cloistered Servite Monastery…
Servite Monastery
And a large upper botanical gardens with a panoramic meditation chamber…
Meditation Sanctuary
I am currently seeking funding opportunities for a return to Portland in order to capture, perform, and record at a variety of locales at the Grotto. Hopefully my return is sooner than later.
Phase Two of my Fall 2016 sabbatical was a week-long residency, Oct. 4-12, at Lawrence Conservatory of Music, in Appleton, Wisconsin, hosted by ethnomusicological colleague and fellow Didgeri Dude, Dean Brian Pertl, his gracious wife Leila, and faithful blue heeler Zeek, the Official Conservatory Dog.
In spite of its brief timeline, my residency was jam-packed with acoustic research, student interaction, academic presentations, improvisational opportunities, performances, and live recordings.
Beginning with an Ethnic Studies lecture highlighting the career of Native American jazz singer Mildred Bailey…
…followed by student didgeridoo class free improvisation sessions in the reverberant Health and Wellness Center racket ball court…
…as well as impulse response (IR) capture sessions in the racket ball court and the 80′ secret subterranean tunnel underneath Seth’s drive-thru coffee shop in downtown Appleton.
Seth’s “Secret” Subterranean Sonic Space
No sabbatical is completed without its gastro perks. Excellent food and drink was abundant in Appleton, but the stars of my stay were the excellent tacos al carbon and jalapeño margaritas at…
…and the amazing Afghani omelettes at the Queen Bee diner.
In addition to a plethora of didgeridoo playing, my visit also featured sitting in with some excellent Lawrence Conservatory world music ensembles, including the high-energy Sambistas, and (after a thirty-one-year hiatus) an opportunity to once again play in a Balinese gamelan ensemble.
Photo by Dewa Ketut Alit Adnyana
I was ” deeply” impressed by my Friday evening session with the student-run Lawrence Deep Listening Club.
Lawrence Conservatory Deep Listening Club
The weekend was punctuated with a hiking trip to High Cliff State Park, which offered scenic vistas of Lake Winnebago…
…and hiking trails through some ancient Indian burial mounds.
My final days at Lawrence were chock-filled with academic and research activity.
But, the culminating event of my residency was the Didgeri Dudes’ reunion concert, presented in Harper Hall, on October 11th.
The evening began with the performance piece “ICU2”, composed by Brian Pertl, and featuring illuminating “eyeball didges” played by Brian, James Cunningham, Izzy Yellen, and Emmett Jackson in a darkened concert hall.
The second selection was a performance of the classic “We Are the Didgeri Dudes” from the Didgeri Dudes first album, released in 1994.
This version of “WATDDs” featured an IR reverberation signature captured in and transported from “The Silo,” a favorite ambient site on my home campus, in Boca Raton.
The Silo – Florida Atlantic University
The third selection in the concert was a tribute to honorary Didgeri Dude Stuart Dempster titled “The Dempster Pacific Railroad” (Cunningham, Pertl 2016), featuring Stuart’s son Loren Dempster on cello.
The piece, inspired by Stuart’s love of the sounds from the many nightly train crossings in Appleton, and featured a newly-captured IR from the Lawrence University racket ball court.
For me, the highlight of the concert was the world premier of “Land of Snows Live” (Cunningham, Pertl, 2016), which recreated the Didgeri Dudes’ Ft. Worden Cistern recording from 1997.
In addition to conch trumpet, sewerphone in b-natural, and Tibetan dung chen, the Dudes’ performance reproduced the original acoustics of the Under the Earth Tones CD with an IR from the cistern itself.
The evening concert concluded with the group improvisation “Now You’re Talkin’” by Brian Pertl, James E Cunningham, and Lawrence students Emmet Jackson, Sam Genualdi, and Izzy Yellen.
I greatly relished my time at Lawrence Conservatory and expectantly anticipate my return to that creative oasis.
My 2016 Fall sabbatical began September 20th with a residency at the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, Canada.
University of Saskatchewan
The visit to USASK began with my third FARLS (Fine Arts Research Lecture Series) presentation, which chronicled my curatorial work with the David L. Kaplan Musical Instrument Collection.
David Kaplan was fascinated by “sound” of all types.
…and his vision for a “living collection” involved the notion that the instruments therein would not merely be on display in a museum-like setting but would be utilized in educational contexts, played in performance settings, and be the inspiration for composition.
Realizing that vision currently faces a number of challenges…
…and the will to present solutions for the future of the collection. The first step towards the creation of a living collection has been the commitment of funds for the making and dedication of a powwow drum the the University by the Kaplan Collection.
The current plans include the filming of the drum-making process, and a formal dedication of the drum to the University during the Aboriginal Week festivities in February, 2017.
The first phase of the sabbatical also involved significant work with the Kaplan Collection itself. Beginning with the assessment and documentation of sixteen additional instruments by local collector William Koloruk, including a hackbrett (a hammered trapezoidal zither manufactured in the former East Germany…
…and several early 20th century banjos, banjo ukuleles, and banjo mandolins…
…and a late 19th century Dulcet zither banjo with silver inlay and tuning mechanism.
Zither Banjo – Barnett Samuel & Sons, London
The Fall 2016 reorganization of the Kaplan Collection also entailed the addition of a previously absent pursed aerophone section. Many of the new aerophones were natural trumpets handmade and donated by James E. Cunningham, including a “plastic double sewerphone” didgeridoo, a Caribbean conch trumpet, an African kudu horn natural trumpet, and a pair of plastic South African vuvuzelas popularized by the 2010 World Cup Football championships.
The addition of new instruments also necessitated the reorganization of the Kaplan Collection displays (pictured below).
Case 1 – Split-Air AerophonesCase 2 – Pursed and Reed AerophonesCase 4 – Plucked and Strummed LutesCase 5 – Bowed Spike-Fiddles, Bow Harps, and a Musical BowCase 6 – Bowed and Plucked ZithersCase 7a – Barrel and Hourglass MembranophonesCase 8a – Frame MembranophonesCase 7b – Rattles and Rasp IdiophonesCase 9b – Gongs and Bells
My USASK residency included a technology lecture for EMUS 442, Organization and Administration of School Music Program…
…an IR capture session in Glen Gillis’ three-car garage ambient man cave site in the Saskatoon suburbs, with an application of that IR to a new original composition titled “Man Cave Yoga”…
…and a digital sampling session of select instruments from the Kaplan Collection with engineer Wayne Giesbrecht.
I had the honor and privilege to participate in the 5th Annual Strata Festival, June 10-12, 2016 in Sasaktoon, Saskatchewan.
Paved Arts Downtown Saskatoon
The Saturday evening concert was presented at Paved Arts, and was attended by a warm and supportive group of musicians, composers, and aficionados.
The performance of Duo Gillis Cunningham was preceded by an inspiring re-arrangement of a Sarah Neufeld violin composition for saxophone by Gerard Webber, and followed by electro-acoustic performances by British euphoniumist David Thornton and electronic composer Chad Munson.
The Strata Festival provided a welcome opportunity to further experiment with live convolution reverberation technology, and also to present performances with a self-designed and constructed conch trumpet…
I was very pleased to participate in the 2016 NASA Conference hosted by Texas Tech University in scenic West Texas.
Lubbock … so flat that you can actually see the earth’s curvature.
It is also the ancestral home of 50s rocker Buddy Holly…
…countrified Mac Davis…
…and some incredible Bar-B-Q!
My playing and composition partner Glen Gillis and I performed four original electro-acoustic pieces and the NASA conference including “Beached Whale” and “Pilgrim Monumental,” both of which were debuted at the Jay Critchley Inc. exhibition opening in Boca Raton, in early February.
We also premiered two new compositions… “Fanfare, for Alto Saxophone and Arnold Palmer Slide Didgeridoo”
And a new live electro-acoustic version of an old classic “Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights)”
I really enjoyed the sojourn to Lubbock (I guess I’m a closet sax geek). However, owing to my propensity for flying with 1 1/2 inch plastic pipe and fittings, I found the obligatory personal message from TSA when I opened my bag upon my return home.
March 3, 2016, on a Jet Blue flight from Ft. Lauderdale [upper left corner] to Port of Spain, Trinidad [lower right] for the 2016 Society for Ethnomusicology Southeastern and Caribbean Chapter Meeting in San Fernando, Trinidad-Tobago [barely off the coast of Venezuela].
Mid-flight, the eastern edge of Hispanola just visible over the right wing
Eastern Edge of Hispanola
We were greeted at the airport by an esteemed chauffeur and his trusty sidekick.
Don Quijote y Sancho Panza
And narrowly escaped certain death on an hour-long ride to the hotel on the “Fun Bus.”
The Fun Bus
Our conference residence was the beautiful Royal Hotel in San Fernando, on the Southwestern tip of Trinidad.
Royal Hotel, San FennandoLooking Southwest from the Hotel Royal Atrium
First order of business, beer and food.
1 TT dollar = 15 cents US
Apparently, in Trinidad, beer is gender-specific, and the food is an eclectic mix of Caribbean, Indian, and Chinese–spicy and delicious!
I’ll have a Carib?
and some potent rum.
Not Less than 75%!!!
The first night in we were invited to a rehearsal of the Skiffle Steel Orchestra just down the road from the hotel.
Graphic Wall at Skiffle Pan YardMonument Across the Street from the Skiffle Pan Yard caption reads: “A Tribute to the Steelband Movement – by – the town beautification committee of San Fernando Borough Council – 23rd December, 1977”
The SEMSEC conference began in ernest the morning of Friday, March 4th. Many interesting panels and papers were presented.
The overall theme of the conference was the role of the percussive engine room of the steel pan orchestra, which provides its energy, forward momentum, and driving force.”
My own presentation explored the potential of acoustic space as a sonic engine room.
The keynote speech of the conference was presented by Dr. Hollis Urban Lester Liverpool aka calypsodian Mighty Chalkdust, who holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Michigan, and is the eight-time winner of Trinidad’s Calypso Monarch competition.
“Chalkie” presented a dynamic keynote which included historical and contemporary perspectives on Trinidad’s calypso tradition.
A stimulating Saturday morning session was followed by an epic journey to Maracas Bay on the north shore of island. A harrowing bus ride over the mountains, led us first to the scenic overlook…
Ethno Beach Invasion
…and then down a winding road to Maracas Beach, where waves were body surfed, glasses lost, and shark bake consumed.
I was very intrigued by a chance encounter with the Dapper Dans, a Main Street barber shop quartet at the Magic Kingdom, in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida, on February 27, 2016.
A Birthday Haircut, The Melody Barbershop, Feb. 27. 2016
In addition to tight vocal harmonies and pin stripes, each of the Dapper Dans also sported a pair of tuned metallic idiophones that closely resembled Balinese anklung to accompany them during their Main Street performances.
In a post-concert discussion with the Dans I learned that the instruments in questions were antiques from the early 20th century, originally manufactured by the J.C. Deagan Company in Chicago.
Deagan Organ and Aluminum Chimes
John Calhoun Deagan
John Calhoun Deagan (1853-1934) was an inventor and entrepreneur who specialized in tuned percussion idiophones. He is best known for his development of the marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, and orchestral chimes. He is also credited with the establishment of 440 Hz as the standard reference pitch in the United States.
J.C. Deagan’s original patent, for what he called organ chimes, was dated March 6, 1900.
Organ Chime Patent Diagram
Deagan organ chimes were hand-made from either nickel-plated steel or aluminum. Steel organ chimes had four tubes, tuned in octaves, while the aluminum chimes only had three.
Deagan Aluminum Chimes
Even though the tubes themselves are made from metal instead of bamboo, the design comparison with the bamboo anklung is unmistakable.
Bamboo Angklung
Both produce sound when the bottom of the tube knocks against the end of a slot cut into the base of the frame. The the sliced top and the length of the bamboo resonator tubes allow for precise tuning. The name “angklung” may onomatopoeically refer to the sound the instrument makes when struck or shaken, or it may also refer to the original four-note scale of the instrument, which intentionally omitted the fifth tone from a pentatonic scale.
Copy?
or
Coincidence?
Another coincidental similarities between Deagan organ chimes and bamboo angklung are: both instruments are tuned in sets; and both can be played suspended on racks.
Bamboo Angklung on RackDeagan Organ Chimes on Rack
The Deagan organ and aluminum chimes were manufactured and sold as novelty instruments from circa 1900 to sometime in the early 1920s. There appears to be little documentation about the origin or inspiration of the J.C. Deagan organ chime design. However, the Gary Goss website states that “John Calhoun Deagan got the idea for the chimes when he attended the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, where he saw an Indonesian group perform on the bamboo angklungs.”
J.C. Deagan Catalog, ca. 1920
Continuation of the Deagan Organ Chime Legacy
After the manufacture of the Deagan organ chimes was halted in the early 20s, they continued to be favorited by select groups of novelty acts, which included Vaudeville entertainers, family bands, circus performers & famous Australian composers.
The ChimersCox FamilyCircus World Deagan Organ ChimesGypsy Rose Pennefeather, Australian Circus Performer and Deagan Organ Chimes, 1995Gary Goss – A Fixture at the Santa Monica Pier – 2001Deagan Organ Chimes in Percy Grainger Museum, Melbourne, Australia
Bamboo Angklung
The exact origin of the bamboo angklung is unclear. It is believed that perhaps it came from Sunda in West Java, spreading to Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Bali where they were played in conjunction with an ensemble of bronze slab-key and gong idiophones. Each angklung, played by a single musician, was tuned to one pitch of a four-tone scale. Complex melodies and rhythms could be produced by hocketing and sustained sounds could be attained by continuously shaking the instrument (similar to a bell choir). These older ensembles are now rare in Bali, but the name angklung and the shaken bamboo instruments have continued to be played throughout Indonesia, in contexts such as this Kentongyan Banyumas, from Central Java.
https://youtu.be/R6G1_GZL3I8?t=3m28s
In 1938, Daeng Soetigna, from Bandung, West Java created an angklung based on the diatonic scale. Since then, the angklung has been a popular genre used for both education and entertainment in more of a Western musical context. In 1966 Udjo Ngalagena, a student of Daeng Soetigna, opened his “Saung Angklung” (House of Angklung), in Bandung, as a centre for its preservation and development.
“Titanic” Saung Angklung Udjo – Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
On July 9, 2011, 5,182 people from many nations played together in Washington DC and are listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest angklung ensemble. Indeed, the angklung as achieved international notoriety as a contemporary, and somewhat exotic, instrument. UNESCO designated the angklung a “Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” on November 18, 2010.
Contemporary Balinese Gamelan Angklung
In present-day Bali there is a continued strong presence of gamelan (translated as orchestra) angklung, which no longer include shaken bamboo instruments. In its contemporary context, gamelanangklung still maintains its four-tone melodies, which are played by interlocking pairs of slab-key gendér (metalophones), struck with wooden hammers.
The gendér are accompanied by hanging gongs, two-headed barrel drums, and suling (flutes).
The complex woven texture of its interlocking rhythms “presents a cheerful, open, and rhythmically intricate musical landscape, expressed in the fluid grace of its traditional repertoire.”
Although Gamelan angklung plays musical offerings during Balinese temple ceremonies, its most characteristic and identifying context is in Hindu-based rituals related to death. It is played as an individuals mortal remains are brought from home to a temporary burial, and again during the elaborate cremation ceremony, where one’s soul is released back to the gods.
Today, Gamelan angklung has strong emotional associations for many Balinese, evoking particular combinations of sweetness, sadness, and nostalgia.
However, in contemporary Bali the bamboo angklung has been relegated to a popular tourist trinket.
Czech Tourist in Borabadur Market
Bub Thomas
The J.C. Deagan organ chimes/angklung were brought to Main Street Magic Kingdom by Dapper Dan Bub Thomas (left), when the park in opened 1971.
Dapper Dans ’71 – Bob Mathis, Dick Kneeland, Bub Thomas, & Jerry Siggins
Bub got the set of Deagan organ chimes from his vaudevillian friend and partner, comedienne/entertainer Billie Bird.
Billie taught Bub how to play the chimes, while working Southern California clubs together in the 1940s and 1950s.
Bub then used the organ chimes in a variety of other quartets including the Terpsichords.
The Terpsichords, 1968
The Deagan organ chimes have now become part of the Dapper Dans’ long-standing barber shop quartet tradition at the Magic Kingdom.
And, where countless visitor’s have been entertained, and perhaps even awarded honorary recognition by Goofy himself!
World Gamelan Angklung
What is remarkable to me is, that at present, both Indonesian and Deaganean traditions seem to showcase the “anklung” ensemble in performances of Western classical and popular music. The internet abounds with countless examples at a global level.
The evening began with the performance piece “ICU2”, composed by Brian Pertl, and featuring illuminating “eyeball didges” played by Brian, James Cunningham, Izzy Yellen, and Emmett Jackson in a darkened concert hall.
David Kaplan was fascinated by “sound” of all types.
…and the will to present solutions for the future of the collection.
I had the honor and privilege to participate in the 5th Annual Strata Festival, June 10-12, 2016 in Sasaktoon, Saskatchewan.
The keynote speech of the conference was presented by Dr. Hollis Urban Lester Liverpool aka calypsodian Mighty Chalkdust, who holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Michigan, and is the eight-time winner of Trinidad’s Calypso Monarch competition.
