Re: microsound Digest 24 Jul 2002 02:25:22 -0000 Issue 619

[Nathan Snider <snider@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> >so I guess it shouldn't really
> >be suprising that we hear math in sound.
>
> Reichs "Music for 18 Musicians" is a very good example of hearing
mathematics

I listen to "18 Musicians" at least once a month, and it is a profoundly
emotional experience.  If mathematics factors in at all, it's on a
subconscious level.  It often reminds me of the final scene in the movie
"Pi," where the main character has abandoned his obsessive pursuit of
mathematicising the world and is content to simply absorb it.  Of course,
that's a pesonal interpretation.  It often reminds my friends of the
immediately preceding scene, or so you'd think, given their reactions.

As mathematical as Reich's compositional methods may be, I don't think that
the intended effect is to "hear mathematics."  One could say the same of
Bach.  Obviously, you can listen to the mathematical aspects and enjoy the
music on a purely abstract level, but ultimately the goal is an emotional
response.

-nathansnider