kenneth gaburo

Lingua II: Maledetto / Antiphony VIII

Two wildly different pieces by American composer Kenneth Gaburo: 'Maladetto', penned between 1967 and 1968, explores the potential of spoken word choral configurations, finding little common ground with the duet for percussion and tape, 'Antiphony VIII' (written between 1982 and 1983). The three-quarter hour 'Maledetto' is very special, entangling and intertwining a variety of texts, all delivered in a host of different formats: there are duets and even a quartet comprising soprano, alto, tenor and bass which is a pretty strange way of thinking about speakers, but it makes for an interesting sonic configuration. When the composition is at its most dense, you'll find your attention flitting between different strands of narrative, and you'll find certain words or phrases leaping out at you, with the potential to latch onto entirely different tracts being read out simultaneously. 'Antiphony VIII' is less radical and compelling in that it occupies a well established corner of academic twentieth century music, experimenting with percussion scores and the interactivity of electroacoustic manipulations. Brilliant.