The Village Trip's "American Primitive & Inventors of Genius" Weekend

>The Village Trip Classical/New Music<
September 15 through 28

works by
………Arnold Schoenberg, Victoria Bond, John Musto, Shoko Suzuki,
…………….Lou Harrison, Clarisse Assad, Harry Partch, Kyle Miller, Nora Stanley, Paul Lansky,
…….Amy Beech, Charles Ives, Jennifer Higdon, Fred Lerdahl, Ned Rorem, Tania Leon

>American Primitive & Inventors of Genius Weekend<

September 19 through 22

Pianist Joan Forsyth & I have been providing Classical/New Music programming for The Village Trip (TVT) since 2021.

Some issues to sort through regarding TVT 24 and this provisional heading –

“American Primitive & Inventors of Genius” –

–“American Primitive” is problematic. It is interesting that “American Primitive” seems to evoke both John Fahey and Lou Harrison. The Village Trip began with an great love for the Village folk scene, and here seems to be a bridge between the folk scene and the world of Lou Harrison & Harry Partch. Where did the label come from? In the US we have authentic strains of folk music. And we have our synthetic folk music, like MacPherson’s synthetic heroic epic poet – Ossian; do we see this in the likes of both a Bob Dylan and a Lou Harrison?

–Considering Schoenberg & Ives, both born 150 years ago, invites a Village-centric view of Schoenberg grappling with his students and would be students, grappling with the strange and confusing new world of music in our hemisphere. Of Cage, Schoenberg declares, “of course he’s not a composer. He’s an inventor – of genius”. Schoenberg took pains to acknowledge American composers.

Ives was interested in studying with Schoenberg. Schoenberg told Ives that he does not need him, reminding us of what Nadia Boulanger said to Margaret Bonds. See Schoenberg’s notes on Gershwin. This statement speaks volumes:

“There is a great Man living in this Country—a composer. He has solved the problem of how to preserve one’s self and to learn. He responds to negligence by contempt. He is not forced to accept praise or blame. – Arnold Schoenberg on Ives.

Is it a stretch to say that Schoenberg felt Ive’s proximity to Goethe-Wordsworth-Emerson-Whitman-Stephnen? Discussing The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America, Frank Brickle noted the early and steep decline in the American conversation following the Civil War.

Schoenberg was of a vast, ancient, vital, living musical ecosystem – a musical tradition. His musical universe was uprooted. Clearly he felt and understood the impossibility of that taking root here. Can we acknowledge in this 150th anniversary year that Schoenberg sanctioned American grassroots music making? Do we not see him giving his blessing, even if equivocally, to the downtown scene, before it was that?

–Are there any hard divisions from Ives to Cowell to Cage and Harrison? Are they not all very aware of their unique American clime? Is it not clear that they never cared about being European?

–Uptown composers share Schoenberg’s ambivalence. Some come around to embrace the downtown scene, as Schoenberg embraced Cage.

I have been infiltrating the Village, the folk scene, the downtown scene, but I’ve also been infiltrating the Ekmelic Society in Salzburg. Agustín Castilla-Ávila, the President of the Salzburg Ekmelic Society, will lead a 4-day conference on microtonal music, “The microtonal Village”.

>The microtonal Village

I am absorbing, slowly, carefully. There is much to catch up on. The US is stand-offish regarding microtonal music.