Arcana is excited to present “Postal Pieces,” a concert that draws inspiration from James Tenney’s unorthodox set of compositions. Tenney’s “Postal Pieces,” composed between 1954 and 1971, are a series of ten concise works each printed on a postcard. These pieces capture Tenney’s exploration of sound and form, focusing on minimalist structures, intonation, and what he called “Swell” forms—gradual crescendos and decrescendos that create a unique auditory experience. Conceived originally as musical “letters” to friends and collaborators, such as Pauline Oliveros and La Monte Young, these works reflect Tenney’s deep connections within the avant-garde music scene and his penchant for inviting listeners into meditative states of listening.

For this concert, the Arcana New Music Ensemble presents a new collection of postcard-sized works commissioned from nine Philadelphia-based composers, each inspired by the spirit of Tenney’s originals. The program features pieces by David Middleton, Andrea Clearfield, Erin Busch, Natacha Diels, Sepehr Pirasteh, James Diaz, Adam Vidiksis, Gene Coleman, and Nick Millevoi. Each composition reflects a dialogue with Tenney’s approach, exploring the boundaries between notation, interpretation, and experience.

Sets of the nine newly commissioned postcard works will be available for purchase at the concert, with all proceeds benefiting the Arcana New Music Ensemble.

PROGRAM

James Tenney: Swell Piece
David Middleton: All the Alleys Home
Andrea Clearfield: The Rest Between Two Notes
Erin Busch: wave tones
Natacha Diels: watermusic
Sepehr Pirasteh: New Norm
James Diaz: total internal reflection
Adam Vidiksis: Orbital Mechanics
Gene Coleman: Rippling Waves
Nick Millevoi: Greetings from the Alligator Farm

ARCANA NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE

Nicholas Handahl, flute
Aaron Stewart, saxophone(s)
Tessa Ellis, trumpet
Jay Krush, tuba
Erin Busch, cello
Andy Thierauf, percussion

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

James Tenney (1934–2006) was an American composer, theorist, and performer renowned for his innovative contributions to experimental and electronic music. A student of notable figures such as Carl Ruggles, Edgard Varèse, and John Cage, Tenney was a central figure in the development of post-war avant-garde music. His work often explored concepts of indeterminacy, microtonality, just intonation, and the physics of sound, integrating mathematical and acoustical theories into his compositions.
Tenney’s diverse output includes works for computer-generated sound, instrumental ensembles, and unconventional notations that challenge traditional musical forms. He was also a significant educator, teaching at the California Institute of the Arts and York University, influencing a generation of composers with his boundary-pushing ideas. His collaborations and associations with artists such as Steve Reich, La Monte Young, and Philip Glass positioned him as a vital connector in the experimental music scene. Tenney’s legacy is marked by his relentless curiosity and his ability to blend rigorous theoretical frameworks with an intuitive approach to sound, profoundly shaping the landscape of contemporary music.

Presented by Bowerbird with support provided by The Presser Foundation

One of the most influential American composers of the 20th century, James Tenney (1934-2006) combined the experimental spirit of Cage and company with a rigorous grounding in acoustics, perception, and information theory. This program explores Tenney’s music for string instruments, from his diagrammatic Postal Pieces (1965-71) to his last major work, the string quartet Arbor vitae (2006). The centerpiece is Tenney’s 1982 composition Glissade, a five-movement work for viola, cello, contrabass, and delay system that serves as a compendium of his major compositional interests and techniques.

Cellogram (1971)
Carolina Diazgranados, cello
 

Harmonium #5 (1978)
Myanna Harvey, violin
Emma Hey, viola
Carolina Diazgranados, cello

Koan (1971)
Anna Lim, violin

Glissade (1982)
I. Shimmer  
II. Array (a’rising)
III. Bessel functions of the first kind
IV. Trias Harmonica
V. Stochastic-canonic Variations
Veronica Jurkiewicz, viola
Tom Kraines, cello
Evan Runyon, bass
with tape-delay system

Beast (1971)
Evan Runyon, bass
 

Arbor vitae (2006)
Anna Lim, violin I
Myanna Harvey, violin II
Emma Hey, viola
Tom Kraines, cello

The American composer Tom Johnson (b. 1939) has made a career of quite literally composing by numbers. Motivated by mathematical concepts such as self-similarity, transformations, and tiling patterns, Johnson's compositions are rigorously formalistic, but his use of repetition and familiar musical materials makes the underlying processes recognizable and (usually) enjoyable. The centerpiece of this concert is Johnson's 1982 work Rational Melodies, a set of 21 short pieces each consisting of a single melodic part generated by more or less complicated mathematical procedures, creating perceptual patterns that both challenge and enchant the ears. 

THE PROGRAM

Johnson: Counting Keys (1982-89)
David Hughes, piano

Johnson: Rational Melodies (1982)
Tessa Ellis, trumpet
Joe Dvorak, clarinet
RJ McGhee, trombone
David Middleton, bass guitar
Dominic Panunto, bassoon

Johnson: Block Design for Piano (2005)
David Hughes, piano