Question Authority, The: How?

(Recordings and Scores)

What? (the Group) | Who? (Members) | Where? (Schedule) | When (History) | How? (Sounds?) | Why? (Reasons)

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"I am the keeper of the endings... (Book:Merge)"

Composed by the ensemble

Score Each person selects a brief text of about five to eight words at random. (In our first rehearsals of it, we've taken books at random from a bookshelf, then read the first few words of the pages to which the books open.) Each repeats the selected text, clearly and audibly. People cluster into groupings and, repeating their texts, exchange words from what each other saying until all the people in the grouping are repeating a merged set of words in unison. The groups then move together into larger groups and exchange words until each larger group is in unison. If necessary, a person may fall silent for a time, then join another's text loop. When all are saying the same loop, they say it twice together in unison then end. The piece may also end by signalled agreement of the group if it becomes clear that no consensus will be reached.

Recording Austin, 03/30/96

Notes and Results:

We have ended up with the following texts, among others, in rehearsing and performing the piece so far:

• prurient adolescent graphic simulation (03/20/96)
• out of my mind afternoon blood dreams of sand (03/28/96)
• the dynamics of two strokes of architecture (03/28/96)
• the third member of the group has discipline to fax (03/30/96)

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That Alphabet Thing

Composed by Joseph Zitt

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Score Each person speaks or sings the names or sounds of the letters of the alphabet, moving forward along the row, and jumping back at will to use any contiguous set of already spoken letters. No letter may be used until the person has used each of the letters that precedes it at least once. The piece ends when all are together at the letter "Z".

Recordings Dallas, 02/29/96 Austin, 03/30/96

(This piece is respectfully dedicated to Big Bird.)

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Phoneme Forest (for David Tudor)

Composed by Joseph Zitt

Score key phrase: "David Tudor" Speak or sing contiguous clusters of up to four letters from the key phrase, in the order in which they appear in the phrase (such as "da" or "idtu", but not "avor") or the names of the letters in the phrase Once you have said a cluster or letter name, you must say at least one other cluster or letter name before you say that one again. (For example, you can say "vid ud vid", but not "vid vid".) Do not follow a cluster with another cluster that immediately follows it in the key phrase. (For example, you can say "vid ud", but not "vid tud".)

Recording This is a one-minute computer-processed version of the piece in .au format. The original is on the Sonic Tribute to David Tudor at ArtsWire.