Klang, Kar, und Melodie (1996), 8m00s

Mark Wingate

This work depicts a day in the life of an Austin, Texas commuter. So why the German title? It is a bad pun on the musical term “Klangfarbenmelodie” coined by German composer Arnold Schoenberg which means literally: “Sound-color-melody”. German intellectualism aside, this piece is a hallucinatory journey through the congested arterial streets and back alleyways of an American city near the end of the millenium, as well as a glimpse into the inner psyche of a human being forced to navigate through such chaos. It starts innocently enough during a sunny morning on a downtown Austin street corner. What follows however, belies the state our modern, urban, mechanistic society, and in the United States at least, many people’s utter dependence upon the “automobile” for their very existence. Klang, Kar, und Melodie won the Prix de la Musique Electroacoustique Caractère during the 23rd International Electroacoustic Music Competition in Bourges, France. and an Honorable Mention from the 1997 Prix Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria.

Performances

Rien à voir (3)
Wednesday, February 18, 1998
Mark Wingate: concert solo + carte blanche