Un grand sommeil noir (1906). Edgard Varèse

vilaine fille points out, among other orgies, the Varèse orgy tomorrow at 5pm PDT on WHRB, playing through the works of the composer in chronological order. I've never heard of let alone heard Un grand sommeil noir. Unfortunately, if all goes well, I'll be headed home on Caltrain at that time. Still, I really like the idea of hearing an artist's works in this way, even if it is the pApAs fritAs orgy currently streaming as I write this. The Romanian Enescu plays Enescu in another five hours...

From the WHRB notes:

First encounters with Varèse (1883-1965) always seem to shock. Certainly few of his contemporaries knew what to make of him. Even today, Varèse seems easier to dismiss as an eclectic than appreciate as a composer. Looking back at the past four decades since his death, we are left with more questions than answers: In our world of even stranger sounds and music, does Varèse matter? Is there more to his music or is it all in the shock? Can the music of Varèse really speak to us? Though we’re more puzzled by these questions and never satisfactorily answered, there remains that elusive something which pulls us back to Varèse.

Comments

[Richard Friedman]

I find it interesting that except for Frank Zappa who was heavily influenced by his style, Varese did not spawn his own "school" of composition. However, many composers have stated their indebtedness to Varese, including Lutoslawski, even tho their music is far from Varese's.
But maybe it is because Varese stood at a particular moment that has passed and left little trace. The literary and visual surrealism that was Paris before WW I, to the Pan-Americanism of New York City before WW II. And maybe for that reason he is like a modernist postcard of a past era, that still can be refreshing, surprising, and even inspiring.
I had the great pleasure to meet Edgard Varese on two occasions on the streets of Greenwich Village in the mid 60's. Altho I only managed to say "Hello M. Varese" and get a jaunty nod in return, I have felt in that moment a connection with a vast world that has passed.