Morton Feldman - Durations 5
Durations 5, for violin, cello, horn, vibraphone, harp & piano/celeste (1961)
Ensemble Avantgarde
With the Durations series, Morton Feldman returned to normal staff notation after having used various forms of graphic notation for several years. In the early realizations of those graphic scores, Feldman had been disappointed by musicians who used the spare details of the scores as an excuse for their own improvisations and personal expression. He had expected more sensitivity to nuances of tone color and ensemble texture on their part. So, when he came to write the Durations series, there were some important elements intentionally left out of the scores. While each pitch was specified (unlike many of Feldman's earlier graphic pieces, where only the general register of the notes was given), each was written only as a stemless whole note. Meter indications and bar lines were also omitted. Feldman intended for the performers to proceed through their parts independently, deciding for themselves how long each note should last while remaining acutely sensitive to tone color (about which he was very specific in the scoring) and attempting to achieve a free sense of time and movement.
Durations 5 is the most colorfully scored and mercurial of the five Durations pieces. Like its companions, it remains quiet throughout. Feldman asks the performers to avoid a distinct attack on the notes they play, so as the textures constantly evolve, they seem to melt into one another. And the textures remain spare; rarely are all the instruments playing at once. The use of vibraphone, harp and celeste give Durations 5 a uniquely delicate, almost ethereal, sound. The music practically disintegrates at the end of the work's eight-minute span, with the tentative final notes of the cello, vibraphone and violin surrounded by considerable stretches of silence. [allmusic.com]
Art by Andy Warhol