Tilbury Treatise Workshop in Vancouver

hatta · Post by **hatta** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 12:39 pm

Cornelius Cardew Treatise

2 day workshop and performance led by John Tilbury

January, 25-26 2006
The Scotiabank Dance Centre, Vancouver B.C.

Vancouver New Music is calling musicians, sound artists sound makers to participate in the Community Ensemble performing Cornelius Cardew's Treatise. A two-day workshop on this monolithic graphic score will be held at the Scotiabank Dance Centre on January 26-27 2006 led by Cardew's long-time friend and performer John Tilbury. The workshop will run Thursday January 25 in the morning and afternoon and Friday January 26 in the morning. An open rehearsal/workshop of Treatise on Friday afternoon will precede a public performance with all the participants. The performance will run from 7-10 pm in the Ferris Studio at the Scotiabank Dance Centre (677 Davie Street).

If you are interested in participating in the workshop and performance please email giorgio@newmusic.org by December 1, 2005. Include a paragraph expressing your interest in the performance and the instrument/sound device you intend to play. Formal musical training is not necessary in order to be considered as a participant in the workshops. Due to the size of the venue, the number of active participants to the workshop and performance is limited.

In an age when the term 'experimental' is still disparaged as meaning 'not fully worked out', 'inaccessible', or 'part of the excess of the 1960s', Treatise appears as contemporary as ever in its challenge to received ways of thinking about and making music, non hierarchical approach and with its inclusive, non-proscriptive, yet thoughtful design.

(I edited out some bits from the email that were quotes from Tilbury on Treatise)

hatta · Post by **hatta** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 12:41 pm

This doesn't really work out super well with me for work and I'm about out of vacation time for the year, but I'm going to try to be at this workshop.

Post by **mudd** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 12:46 pm

that does sound awesome, though.

m

Watt · Post by **Watt** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 1:22 pm

i HAVE to attend this

kristop · Post by **kristop** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 1:37 pm

wow.... that's awesome. sucks i've sworn off vancouver for a few years.

Watt · Post by **Watt** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 3:49 pm

and on the saturday:

John Tilbury (UK)
Saturday, 28 January 2006 | 8pm
Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie St.
Tickets $15 / $10
In concert with his own pre-recorded voice, renowned pianist and performer John Tilbury performs musical accompaniment to Samuel Beckett’s radio play Cascando.

"There is, nothing...in my head...I open and close...I start again." (from Cascando)

The piano reflects on the two voices, mirroring the narration, Tilbury echoing the spoken words with repetition and “obsessive dischords”.

"If you could finish it...you could rest...sleep...not before...oh I know... the ones I've finished...thousands and one ...all I ever did...in my life...saying to myself...finish this one...it's the right one...then rest...sleep...no more stories...no more words..." (from Cascando)

Described as taking the listener through various states — “sombre, with very clean sonorities, to obsessive and anxious” — Tilbury’s treatment of Cascando adds an innovative new dimension to the classic radio play.

In addition to Cascando, John Tilbury will perform a selection of sonatas for piano by John Cage.

The pianist is John Tilbury, a mesmerising interpreter of Cage and Feldman...the sound itself is beautiful, an oscillation between fragility and strength that never threatens for even a second to fall into the banal prison of audiophiliac, New Age beauty. Captured in acoustic space, the notes hang and disperse in an air that becomes cloudy with fading sound. Muted and soft edged, they are located exactly the right distance to make us feel we are sharing the space with the piano. - David Toop.

i probably won't attend the workshop but i'm going to try my best to attend both performances.[/i]

hatta · Post by **hatta** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:24 pm

Yeah I'll make it to both those performances regardless of the workshops, though I'd love to get some insights from Tilbury on Treatise. Great to see that he's going to be playing some Cage - I love his recording of the Sonatas and Preludes for Prepared Piano.

Post by **mudd** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:32 pm

didn't anyone tell tilbury that canada is a capitalist country?

seriously, though, i'm glad he's condescended to performing on north american soil. that much closer to actually being able to see him!

m

hatta · Post by **hatta** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:35 pm

mudd wrote:didn't anyone tell tilbury that canada is a capitalist country?

seriously, though, i'm glad he's condescended to performing on north american soil. that much closer to actually being able to see him!

m

I find this sort of mischaracterization of Tilburys politics kind of grating. The whole issue about dealing with Americans has to do with generating tax money for the government. If you are making money for an American it has to be taxed and thus pays for American imperialism. It is completely legitimate to not wish to participate in that.

jon abbey · Post by **jon abbey** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 4:55 pm

hatta wrote:I find this sort of mischaracterization of Tilburys politics kind of grating. The whole issue about dealing with Americans has to do with generating tax money for the government. If you are making money for an American it has to be taxed and thus pays for American imperialism. It is completely legitimate to not wish to participate in that.

actually, he's given various explanations but the one I've heard most frequently from him involved him not wanting to come through US immigration and legitimize the regime in charge here.

if he'd ever given me the above explanation (which he never did, that's the first I've heard of that), I would have had a really good answer, which is that I don't pay taxes since I lose money every year. so that wouldn't really be an adequate explanation for him backing out of the German festival at the last minute, although since that resulted in the concert that became EL005, maybe it ended up being for the best.

anyway, I think it's great he seems to be working so much these days, looking forward to hearing the upcoming CDs and maybe seeing him live again sometime.

hatta · Post by **hatta** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 5:09 pm

This certainly may be just my interpretation of his stance and I hardly claim to speak for him, but that has been my reading from his public statements. Consider this quote from his statement (emphasis mine):

By going to the US at this point in time, by contributing to cultural life, it does send out a message, it seems to me, however the musician may rationalise his/her act and its consequences, that in the US, when it comes down to it, 'everything is alright', i.e. culturally, pluralism and normality reign. More contentiously, going to the US might even be construed as an act of indifference to US crimes against humanity ( ... ) - at worst, perhaps, complicity (there's only the thinnest line between indifference and complicity).

Apart from the "thin line between indifference and complicity" adding to the US treasury could certainly (and has been historically by many a protest boycott) be regarded as complicity. Certainly the most direct form of complicity that one could think of, far more so then any effect one may have on the perception of normalicy.

jon abbey · Post by **jon abbey** » Wed Sep 14, 2005 5:59 pm

yeah, pretty sure that's just your interpretation.

lukaz · Post by **lukaz** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 4:56 am

Does somebody knows when this old english chap will finish his long-in-the-making book on Cornelius Cardew?

Klaus Filip informed me that Tilbury was far the best thing (mindblowing in his words) on this years Konfrontationen festival in Nickelsdorf- solo and in group (w Ken Vandermark, Phil Wachsmann & Paul Lytton). He did praise also a duo of Christof Kurzmann & John Butcher which i am very curious about ...

Brian Olewnick · Post by **Brian Olewnick** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 8:32 am

When I wrote him recently on another matter, I added a loose question about the progress of his bio. He declined to answer that one....

Watt · Post by **Watt** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:35 pm

lukaz wrote:Does somebody knows when this old english chap will finish his long-in-the-making book on Cornelius Cardew?

Klaus Filip informed me that Tilbury was far the best thing (mindblowing in his words) on this years Konfrontationen festival in Nickelsdorf- solo and in group (w Ken Vandermark, Phil Wachsmann & Paul Lytton). He did praise also a duo of Christof Kurzmann & John Butcher which i am very curious about ...

is that beckett in your avatar?

letchhausen · Post by **letchhausen** » Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:48 pm

This sounds amazing, I wonder if I can go to the workshop if I don't know how to play an instrument. I could bring one though and do a Taku Sugimoto impersonation (in the theatrical sense natch).......

hatta · Post by **hatta** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 4:48 pm

I thought I'd bring this thread back up as this workshop begins tomorrow. While this is not longer open to registrants the Treatise performance on Friday and the solo Tilbury show on Saturday are of cause open to attendees. I'm going to be in the workshop so say hi if you come to show. Also since I'll have some time to kill a couple of days anything of particular interest to check out? I'm pretty familiar with Vancouver, but there is nothing like getting some insider perspective.

letchhausen · Post by **letchhausen** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 11:58 pm

hatta wrote:I thought I'd bring this thread back up as this workshop begins tomorrow. While this is not longer open to registrants the Treatise performance on Friday and the solo Tilbury show on Saturday are of cause open to attendees. I'm going to be in the workshop so say hi if you come to show. Also since I'll have some time to kill a couple of days anything of particular interest to check out? I'm pretty familiar with Vancouver, but there is nothing like getting some insider perspective.

Crap, my transitioning to a new job precludes me from going. The art museum there often has some pretty cool shows and occasionally has boring stuff too. Otherwise I'd recommend going to those state sponsored shooting galleries, scoring some smack and getting your freak on!

user_83 · Post by **user_83** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:35 am

Even though I forgot to sign up for the workshop I'm still really looking forward to Saturday. I still haven't picked up tickets, and I'm not really sure how big this venue is, but I hope it isn't sold out...

hatta · Post by **hatta** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:18 am

electrocash wrote:Even though I forgot to sign up for the workshop I'm still really looking forward to Saturday. I still haven't picked up tickets, and I'm not really sure how big this venue is, but I hope it isn't sold out...

It's pretty small, but not tiny. Really though I wouldn't worry too much about it, I'm sure you can get tickets at the door.