The Legacy of Cornelius Cardew

228 Pages·2013·6.391 MB·English

by  Tony Harris

The Legacy of Cornelius Cardew
Tony Harris
The Legacy of corneLius cardew
To Mum and Dad
The Legacy of cornelius cardew
Tony harris
Nottingham Trent University, UK
© Tony harris 2013
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Tony harris has asserted his right under the copyright, designs and Patents act, 1988, to
be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing Limited ashgate Publishing company
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
harris, Tony.
The legacy of cornelius cardew.
1. Cardew, Cornelius–Influence. 2. Cardew, Cornelius–Criticism and interpretation. 3.
cardew, cornelius–Political and social views. 4. avant-garde (Music)–great Britain.
i. Title
780.9’2-dc23
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
harris, Tony, 1975-
The legacy of cornelius cardew/by Tony harris.
p. cm.
includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4094-4810-5 (hardcover:alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4094-4811-2 (ebook)
1. Cardew, Cornelius. 2. Composers—England—Biography. 3. Music—England—20th
century—History and criticism. I. Title.
ML410.c3263h36 2013
780.92—dc23
ISBN 9781409448105 (hbk)
ISBN 9781409448112 (ebk-PDF)
ISBN 9781409472070 (ebk-ePUB)
V
Contents
List of Figures vii
Preface ix
1 Introduction 1
2 Stockhausen Serves Imperialism 9
3 The Formative Years 25
4 Cardew the Bourgeois Composer? 33
5 Scratch: Embodiment and Change 51
6 Cardew the Revolutionary 83
7 Music for the Masses 101
8 Towards a Definition of ‘Cardewism’ 125
9 ‘Well, Well, Cornelius’ 149
10 Epilogue 189
Bibliography 197
Index 211
This page has been left blank intentionally
List of Figures
3.1 An example of a ‘snappy item’. Extract reproduced by
kind permission of The Musical Times Publications Ltd
and the Cardew estate. 28
4.1 Cardew, Memories of You (1964). © Universal Edition.
Reproduced by kind permission of Universal Edition
(London) Ltd., London. All rights reserved.
International copyright secured. 34
4.2 Cage, detail from Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1957–58).
© Edition Peters. Extract reproduced by kind permission of
Peters Edition Ltd, London. 34
4.3 Cardew, February Pieces (1959–61). © Edition Peters.
Reproduced by kind permission of Peters Edition Ltd, London. 36
4.4 Cardew, Autumn ’60 (1960). © Universal Edition.
Extract reproduced by kind permission of Universal Edition
(London) Ltd., London. All rights reserved.
International copyright secured. 38
4.5 Cardew, Solo With Accompaniment (1964). © Universal Edition.
Extract reproduced by kind permission of Universal Edition
(London) Ltd., London. All rights reserved.
International copyright secured. 39
4.6 Cardew, Octet ’61 for Jasper Johns (1961). © Edition Peters.
Reproduced by kind permission of Peters Edition Ltd, London. 40
4.7 Cardew, Treatise, pages 3 and 4 (1963–7). © Edition Peters 1970.
Reproduced by kind permission of Peters Edition Ltd, London. 44
4.8 Cardew, Volo Solo (1965), © Edition Peters 1971. Reproduced
by kind permission of Peters Edition Ltd, London. 46
5.1 Cardew, The Great Learning, Paragraph 2 (1969). © Horace Cardew.
Reproduced by kind permission of the Cardew estate. 55
5.2 Double page spread from Scratch Music (1972). Extract reproduced
by kind permission of Howard Skempton, Michael Parsons,
Carole Chant, John Nash, Christopher May, Bryn Harris,
Christopher Hobbs and the Cardew estate. 62
5.3 Carole Finer, Scratch Music, Spread W. © Carole Chant.
Reproduced by kind permission. 63
5.4 John Nash, Scratch Music, Spread I. © John Nash. Reproduced
by kind permission. 63
5.5 Phil Gebbett, Scratch Music, Spread M. © Phil Gebbett. 64
viii The Legacy of Cornelius Cardew
5.6 Christopher May, Scratch Music, Spread G. © Christopher May.
Reproduced by kind permission. 64
5.7 Bryn Harris, Scratch Music, Spread W. © Bryn Harris.
Reproduced by kind permission. 65
5.8 Cardew, The Great Learning, Paragraph 4 (1970). © Horace Cardew.
Reproduced by kind permission of the Cardew estate. 68
5.9 Cardew, The Great Learning, Paragraph 7 (1969). © Horace Cardew.
Reproduced by kind permission of the Cardew estate. 69
7.1 Cardew, The Turtle Dove from Three Bourgeois Songs (1973).
© Horace Cardew. Reproduced by kind permission of the
Cardew estate. 104
7.2 Cardew, Father Murphy from Piano Album (1973).
© Horace Cardew. Reproduced by kind permission of the
Cardew estate. 106
7.3 Cardew, Soon (1971). © Horace Cardew. Reproduced by
kind permission of the Cardew estate. 117
9.1 Brian Dennis, ‘Material No 6’ from Experimental Music
in Schools (1970). © Oxford University Press 1970. Extract
reproduced by permission. All rights reserved. 152
9.2 Skempton, Islands and Caves, from Projects in Sound (1975).
© Universal Edition. Extracts reproduced by kind permission
of Universal Edition (London) Ltd., London. All rights reserved.
International copyright secured. 154
9.3 Paynter and Aston, ‘Shapes into Music’ from
Sound and Silence (1970). © Cambridge University Press.
Reproduced by kind permission of Cambridge University Press.
All rights reserved. 155
9.4 Skempton, A Humming Song (1967). © Oxford University Press
1996. Reproduced by permission. All rights reserved. 160
9.5 Skempton, Saltaire Melody (1977). © Oxford University Press
1996. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved. 161
9.6 Skempton, Of Late (1992). © Oxford University Press 1996.
Reproduced by permission. All rights reserved. 162
9.7 Parsons, Walk (1969). © Michael Parsons. Reproduced by kind
permission. 163
9.8 Skempton, The Durham Strike (1985). © Oxford University Press
1996. Extract reproduced by permission. All rights reserved. 165
9.9 Parsons, Piano Piece May 2003. © Michael Parsons. Reproduced
by kind permission. 166
9.10 Russell, Stags, hens and inflatable sheep (2000). © Edition Peters.
Reproduced by kind permission of Peters Edition Ltd, London. 169
9.11 Russell, songlines and LONGlines (1998). © Barry Russell.
Reproduced by kind permission. 172–3
Preface
In 1995, I attended the inaugural concert given by the Cornelius Cardew
Ensemble at University College Bretton Hall. Knowing nothing of Cardew, I
was surprised to find he was not actually a member of the ensemble due to his
being allegedly assassinated 14 years previously. This was my kind of composer.
Since that time, and despite having never met the man, the presence of
Cornelius Cardew has loomed large in my life. His music and writings have
informed my approach to performing, composing and improvising. His politics
have challenged my comfortable middle-class world-view, though, I am ashamed
to admit, I lack Cardew’s determination to dismantle it. Most significantly, my
immersion in the world of Cardew has shaped the way I think and behave as a
music educator. If this book serves no other purpose, then it is to give others the
opportunity to discover a body of work that might change the way they think.
The seed from which this book has grown was planted a long time ago and
my first debt of gratitude must therefore go to Barry Russell and members of the
Cornelius Cardew Ensemble for introducing me to Cardew’s work and for the
ensuing discussions, projects and opportunities. As part of the doctoral research
that preceded this book Birmingham Conservatoire provided me with a valuable
supervision team. Dr Mark Lockett proved to be a constant source of knowledge
and insight; Dr Steve Halfyard pored over the very early drafts of my text and
taught me how to write with clarity; Howard Skempton provided the historical
integrity this project needed and his thoughts are referenced extensively
throughout the book. Thanks go to Professor Peter Johnson, Professor Lucy
Green and Dr Julia Winterson for their advice on earlier versions of the text.
Thanks also to Heidi Bishop, Laura Macy, Bethan Dixon and the team at
Ashgate for their expert help, and to my colleagues in the School of Education
at Nottingham Trent University.
I am grateful to those individuals who, along with Howard Skempton, knew
Cornelius personally and gave their time to talk to me openly and passionately
about him and their own work. In particular, thanks to Michael Parsons, John
Tilbury and Dave Smith who all willingly granted me an in-depth interview.
Chris Shurety and Anton Lukoszevieze also allowed me to grill them on their
work and reference is made to all of these discussions in the book. There are
many others whose snatched conversations at concerts, forums and conferences
have been a valuable source of information and illumination. I hope you find
that this book gives a voice to your thoughts and feelings about Cornelius’
contribution to the world. I would also like to pay rare tribute to the countless
pupils, students, project participants, and trainee teachers I have had the pleasure