Keywords
John Zorn, comprovisation
Abstract
Once the unruly upstart, John Zorn is now a MacArthur fellow, whose formidable catalog divides easily into early, middle, and late periods. The early period dates from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, when Zorn pioneered the practice of "comprovisation," a term used to describe "the making of new compositions from recordings of improvised material." Ultimately, Zorn's comprovisation blurs the lines between active listener and composer, since both create new works when they impose structure on found sonic material. His early structuralist-modernist approach to comprovisation produced esoteric, often severely pointillist music, and evolved into the game pieces of the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in the masterpiece of strategy, Cobra (1984), the last early-period work.
Original Publication Citation
C.T. Asplund. "John Zorn. The Gift Songs from the Hermetic Theatre (2001). Chimeras Masada Guitars (2003). Masada Recital Magick (2004). Rituals (2005). Astronome Masada Rock Moonchild," American Music, 2008.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Asplund, Christian T., "John Zorn. The Gift; Songs from the Hermetic Theatre (2001). Chimeras; Masada Guitars (2003). Masada Recital; Magick (2004). Rituals (2005). Astronome; Masada Rock; Moonchild" (2008). Faculty Publications. 914.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/914
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2008-01-01
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/2681
Publisher
University of Illinois Press
Language
English
College
Fine Arts and Communications
Department
Music
Copyright Status
© 2008 University of Illinois Press.
Copyright Use Information
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