Impur (album)
Encyclopedia
Impur is an album
by English
guitarist
, composer
and improvisor
Fred Frith
. It was composed in 1996 by Frith "for 100 musicians, large building and mobile audience" and was performed on 30 May 1996 by students and teachers from L’Ecole Nationale de Musique, Villeurbanne
, France
. Frith directed the performance but did perform himself.
Impur is the first of two performances commissioned by L’Ecole Nationale de Musique while Frith was resident music professor at the institution. The second was Impur II
(2009).
, France
. At the end of the two year residency, Frith organised a musical event at the school involving as many students as possible. He grouped them according to their music disciplines and placed them in all the rooms of a music building. Each group of musicians then played music Frith had prepared for them or, when required, improvised
. Using synchronized stopwatches, all the groups, who could not hear each other, played strictly according to a 55-minute time-score that Frith had written. During the concert the public was invited to wander from room to room, or sit in the courtyard and listen to the sounds from the open windows. The whole performance was recorded on four ADAT
recorders and later mixed
.
Downtown Music Gallery wrote of this album:
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and improvisor
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
. It was composed in 1996 by Frith "for 100 musicians, large building and mobile audience" and was performed on 30 May 1996 by students and teachers from L’Ecole Nationale de Musique, Villeurbanne
Villeurbanne
Villeurbanne is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France after that of Paris. Villeurbanne is the second-largest city in the department.-History:The current location of...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Frith directed the performance but did perform himself.
Impur is the first of two performances commissioned by L’Ecole Nationale de Musique while Frith was resident music professor at the institution. The second was Impur II
Impur II
Impur II is an album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It was composed in 1996 by Frith and performed in December 1997 in RamDam in Lyon, France by students and teachers from L’Ecole Nationale de Musique, Villeurbanne...
(2009).
Background
Between 1994 and 1996, Frith was Composer-in-Residence at L’Ecole Nationale de Musique in VilleurbanneVilleurbanne
Villeurbanne is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France after that of Paris. Villeurbanne is the second-largest city in the department.-History:The current location of...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. At the end of the two year residency, Frith organised a musical event at the school involving as many students as possible. He grouped them according to their music disciplines and placed them in all the rooms of a music building. Each group of musicians then played music Frith had prepared for them or, when required, improvised
Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...
. Using synchronized stopwatches, all the groups, who could not hear each other, played strictly according to a 55-minute time-score that Frith had written. During the concert the public was invited to wander from room to room, or sit in the courtyard and listen to the sounds from the open windows. The whole performance was recorded on four ADAT
ADAT
Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a magnetic tape format used for the simultaneous digital recording of eight analog audio or digital audio tracks at once, onto a Super VHS tape that is used by consumer VCRs.- History :...
recorders and later mixed
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
.
Downtown Music Gallery wrote of this album:
Directors
- Fred FrithFred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
– chamber orchestra section - Sophie Dufeutrelle – flutes section
- Catherine Guinamard – recorders section
- Pascal Pariaud – clarinets section
- Nasser Saïdani – African percussion section
- David Wood – Ensemble Hétéroclite
Performers
- Samuel Chagnard – soprano saxophone, bass clarinet
- Alain Chaléard – tabla
- Patrick Charbonnier – trombone
- Laurent Frick – trumpet
- Bader Gharzouli – electric guitar
- Stephane Grosjean – percussion
- Joël Jorda – clarinet
- Ghilem Lacroux – electric guitar
- Stéphane Lambert – alto saxophone
- Gilles Laval – electric guitar
- Catherine Leuchter – recorder
- Laure Michel – recorder
- Claire Mollard – percussion
- Guillaume Quemener – electric guitar
- Franklin Riboud – electric guitar
- Fatiha Semaïl – recorder
- Laurent Vichard – clarinet
Engineers
- Myles Boisen – mastering
- Peter Hardt – mixing
- Emmanuel Gilot – recording
- Laurent Luci – recording assistant