Prospective MARC announcement

Here’s the revised text of the 008/21 and 008/33 proposal, incorporating suggestions by Kathy and Matthew:

Draft Statement on the Transposition/Arrangement and
Presence/Absence of Parts Positions of the 006 and 008 Fields

Background

At the 2008 Newport meeting of the MARC Formats Subcommittee, it was the sense of both the Subcommittee and some of the visitors present that the Bibliographic Control Committee should issue an official statement regarding the transposition/arrangement and presence/absence of parts bytes of the 006 and 008 fields. These bytes were included in Proposal no. 2002-14/3:008/21 and Proposal no. 2002-14/4: 008/33 (Music), available at http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2002/2002-14.html. These proposals were made as concessions to the British cataloging community, which uses these bytes. However, since there is no consensus among U.S. and Canadian catalogers on how these fields should be used, their inclusion posed the potential for some confusion and inconsistency among shared records.

Recommendations

In the sound recordings format, the OCLC defaults for positions 008/21 (parts) and 008/33 (transposition/arrangement) are both “n” (not applicable), since these bytes can only be applied to notated music. In the scores format, the defaults are blank for both positions. Since both positions are optional, these are the only logical defaults. Also, some confusion has been expressed regarding the meaning of the presence/absence of parts byte; and this recommendation is in part to allay such confusion by recommending that the position not be coded.

The MARC Formats Subcommittee recommends that the OCLC defaults be used for these bytes. Reasons for this include inconsistent coding in USMARC 008/21, based on differing interpretations of the coded values, which led to this byte becoming obsolete in USMARC in 1988. U.S. and Canadian cataloging records did not include this information from 1988 to 2002. The Music Library Association feels that there are currently better ways for online catalogs to retrieve records with or without parts, especially since dependence on coded data for retrieval has lessened considerably since 1988. Also, U.S. and Canadian catalogers did not have the ability to code arrangement/transposition at all until 2002; and there is no perception among that community that providing these values would help catalog users in record retrieval.

Yet another blast from the past: J. Alberts reviews Jim White

I have to admit that I’m somewhat less taken with White’s songwriting now than I was when I was blown over by his first two albums.  Nonetheless, they’re interesting still, especially the exquisitely-produced Drill a Hole in that Substrate and Tell Me What You See, which showcases David Byrne’s production aesthetic as well as some interesting guest artists.  White’s third album, No Such Place, has been hailed as a masterpiece by critics, and to some extent this is well deserved, although the album has a couple missteps (in my opinion, the female-serial-killer ballad Wound that Never Heals could have stayed in the vaults), although they’re largely redeemed by rockers like Handcuffed to a Fence in Mississippi and Ten Miles to go on a Nine Mile Road. White’s latest, Transnormal Skipperoo, has some good material (notably the haunting ballad Jailbird) but otherwise tends to fall back on cliche.

In any case, here’s the original review from Oct. 2006:

Jim White. The mysterious tale of how I shouted One-eyed Jesus (CD 15116), Drill a hole in that substrate and tell me what you see (CD 15117). White is inevitably described as a “Southern gothic” songwriter, but despite his recurring themes (spiritual crises at midnight by the side of a lonesome highway or abandoned graveyard in the pouring rain, with far off train whistles moaning, etc., etc.) the label is not entirely accurate. Neither White’s musical language nor his lyrics are refined enough to really fit the “southern gothic” label, and this isn’t a bad thing.

It’s easy to hear David Byrne’s attraction to (and influence on) Luaka Bop artist White. His complex, multilayered textures and endlessly allusive lyrics sound somewhat similar to Byrne’s music of the early eighties. White brings to the mix an alt-country sensibility and overarching religious obsession that plays like a bad headache (viz. “Static on the Radio” and “Phone Booth in Heaven” among other songs). Fortunately, White’s universe has room for humor amidst the desolation, as in “Combing my hair in a brand new style” and “What if Jesus Drove a Motor Home” (sample lyric: “If Jesus drove a motor home / I wonder how what’d drive. / Pedal to the metal, / or real slow, checkin’ out the stereo. / Cassette playin’ Bob Dylan, motivation tapes. / Tricked out Winnebago, tie-dyed drapes”).

“Drill a hole in that substrate” is somewhat more accessible and lyrical than “One-eyed Jesus” (and features Mary Gauthier and The Barenaked Ladies as guests); the obsessive listenability of songs like “Static on the Radio,” the elegiac “Bluebird,” and “Borrowed Wings” somehow makes White’s lyrics seem all the more desolate. However, both albums strongly deserve a listen.

Blast from the past: Steve Gorbos reviews from 2006

Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji. Fantasia ispanica (CD 15227) and Rosario d’arabeschi, Gulistan (CD 15226). Both discs featuring Jonathan Powell, piano. Sorabji, a privileged recluse in the vein of Scelsi, has a biography that has similarly entered the status of “legendary”. As far as the pieces go, imagine the musics of Messiaen and Scriabin mating and producing offspring…very long-winded unremarkable offspring. The Fantasia ispanica owes a wee bit more to the eroticized Spain of Ravel and Debussy. While there are interesting moments, the music on these discs collapses under the strain of its own epic weight.

Real Quiet. Tight Sweater: The Music of Marc Mellits (CD 15229). This disc, featuring 4 pieces by Cornell alum Marc Mellits, runs the gamut of traditionally untranscendant Reich/Bang On A Can imitation (the ensemble Real Quiet shares percussionist David Cossin with the All-Stars). Where this recording departs from traditional Cantaloupe records fare is in its production: the sound is a lot more forward and hard edged, almost like they’re using contact mics on the instruments. In that sense, the very up close sound world is appealingly immediate. While there is undeniably beauty to be found in the tender lyricism of tracks like Sheep Bells from the solo piano opus Agu, I have yet to hear a Mellits piece that does not sound derivative of the slightly older composers that are consistently listed in his press materials. Try a comparison between this disc and the Bang On A Can All-Stars Renegade Heaven (CD 8385) to see what I mean.

Orquestra Sinfonica de Xalapa. Revueltas (CD 15221). This group really captures the ironically quirky nature of Revueltas music. It also contains very informative liner notes that attempt to give the sad biography of Revueltas a context in the post-revolution musical culture of Mexico as a “more authentic” Chavez. These recordings are extremely live and exciting, but a little sloppy in the production. Certain tracks are plagued by what sounds like uneven balance between splices, which is a shame because these performances never lack energy or charm. Most of the scores to these pieces are available in our library, as are several alternate recordings of the pieces collected here: check out CDs 12050 and 10180.

10 + 2 : 12. American Text Sound Pieces (CD 15228). A reissue of a 1750 Arch Records release from 1974, out of print since the early 1980s. As Charles Amirkhanian points out in his liner notes to the reissue, this under theorized sub-genre of 1970s experimental electronic music really has yet to have its history written. Perhaps this is because of the variety contained therein: much like today’s interactive software, the technology and aesthetics were adopted by a wide range of artists – from composers, to poets, to performance artists – with staggeringly different results. The pieces on this recording, all made from recorded spoken texts, range from Anthony Gnazzo’s fanatically minimalist The Population Explosion to Charles Dodge’s vocoded Speech Songs, to the wild In Sara, Mencken, Christ…by Robert Ashley. If you’re into or curious about experimental electronic music or novel approaches to text setting, there is something for you on this recording. I was delighted to find that we still have the original LP in our library’s holdings: apparently it was designed with “lock grooves” at either end of the record, which kept Gnazzo’s piece on side 1 and Aram Saroyan’s similarly obsessive crickets on side 2 spinning into eternity (Rec 1497 T28).

Imaginäre Landschaften. Elektroakustische Musik (CD 15223). Compilation from 2000 of pieces from composers working in Germany. Several of the composers on this disk have had some association with the Akademie der Künste Berlin, and almost all of them were trained in German studios (the pieces themselves were realized at a variety of European studios). What’s nice about this disc is that the concepts behind each of the 8 pieces are as varied as the sounds themselves. All of these pieces were realized in the 1990’s, and although there is some uniformity in the methodology (particularly the slowly-shifting hummmmmm aesthetic) the variety contained is refreshing. Inge Morgenroth’s Requiem für ein Schwein is weird and strangely addicting. The piece sounds like amplified room hum with short samples of, you guessed it, Schwein. And not just any Schwein, little Johnny: we’re talking about polyphonic Schwein. I know their new digs by the canal are going to be great, but why did the “Got Beef” store have to move away from my neighborhood on Seneca Street? I dedicate my performance of Morgenroth’s Requiem to this former cultural pillar of East Seneca Street, soon to be re-opened as Sebastian’s.

Martin Zehn. Olivier Messiaen Vingt Regards Sul L’Enfant-Jesus (CD 15218). Ok. Here’s a trivia question for you: which gaze at the Prince of Peace renders a naked woman in a fetal position on a rock…twice…(there’s another “secret” copy underneath disc two…shhhhh). Just curious. The liner notes, with additional photos of Messiaen, Zehn, and an essay by Dr. Barbara Dobretsberger, don’t even give us a photo credit for the artist who produced that enticing gaze. If you’re wondering where Messiaen’s epic piano work from the 1940s fits into this, you are not alone, but do read on. Zehn’s recording is a little more relaxed than the renditions we have on hand by Aimard and Loriod (CDs 9002 & 2943). While I still think I prefer Aimard’s regal, somewhat stately interpretation, I think Zehn’s might be a bit more intimate. Other releases in Zehn’s effort to record Messiaen’s complete piano works that we have in our library include the Preludes Etudes; Canteyodjaya (CD 14617)

Kairos…the boutique record label of European contemporary music. Klangforum Wien, the house band for Kairos, is at it again on these two releases: Quarderno di strada (CD 15217) and Ultima Thule (CD 15222). The first, featuring music by the Sicilian Salvatore Sciarrino, contains a collection of 13 gorgeous miniatures for baritone and ensemble called Quarderno di strada. These small aphoristic pieces are vintage Sciarrino: two words that continually come to mind when I hear his work are elegant and delicate. The texts are taken from a variety of sources – Roman graffiti, Rilke, and the newspaper in his adopted hometown of Siena (among other sources). The vocal technique is an invention of Sciarrino’s based on an Italian early-baroque style called sillobazione scivolata, which the liner notes describe as a step-wise glissando. One continually finds in his work gripping combinations of unique sounds. These pieces are no exception.

Wolfram Schurig, the composer featured in the second Kairos disc, is a new name to me. A student of Lachenmann from 1992 – 1995, his work has gained popularity in the last 10 years. The music on this disk, while making use of sounds that one could relate to Lachenmann’s music, is distinct, and could possibly be likened to the Sciarrino, albeit a Sciarrino sound world that is much bulkier and about half as subtle. The third and fourth pieces on the disk are concertos for violin and bass clarinet (respectively). They both are quite interesting in how the soloist fades in and out of the ensemble. The other standout on the disk is the title track, Ultima Thule, for 5 ensembles, which could possibly be read as a 21 st century response to Stockhausen’s Gruppen.

John McLaughlin. Industrial Zen (CD 15224). A very typical McLaughlin release, blending thinned-out 1970’s Mahavishnu Orchestra sounds with a synthesizer aesthetic that is perhaps close to Lyle Mays. Joined here by familiar faces Zakir Hussain, Bill Evans (Sax), Dennis Chambers, Shankar Mahadevan and others, McLaughlin continues his journey on the path of blindingly virtuosic fusion. While McLaughlin has been into guitar synthesizers for years, this album feels a bit heavier in that direction than usual. Perhaps this is because virtually every track is accompanied by HEAVY use of synthesizer pads and arpeggiators as filler. The highlight so far has been Wayne’s Way, a tribute to Wayne Shorter. The low point has been the first 5 minutes of Dear Dalai Lama.

The Dutch Jazz Orchestra. The Lady Who Swings the Band: Rediscovered Music of Mary Lou Williams (CD 15225). Premiere recordings of the important bandleader/composer arranger Mary Lou Williams by the excellent Dutch Jazz Orchestra. A project overseen by the director of the Mary Lou Williams Foundation, nine out of these fourteen tracks had yet to be recorded. The playing here is excellent (as are the liner notes), and the pieces, spanning the length of her career, seem like a collection of snapshots from WWII-era big band through the 1960s: one can get a vivid picture of the impressively diverse array of elements that Williams absorbed into her style from this disc. Williams’ music never fit into the stereotypical mold of women put forth in our received jazz history, and it’s good to see that organizations are starting to acknowledge and spend some time with this music. The Dutch Jazz Orchestra, an ensemble that has the state-sponsored freedom to pursue such worthy endeavors, has previously devoted similar care to recording the music of Billy Strayhorn (CD 11174).