CISA–Derek Baron

In New York City, Derek Baron is a composer, musician, and writer. Recital, Pentiments, Penultimate Press, and Regional Bears have released solo recordings of chamber, computer, and concrete music.They have recorded the music of John Cage, Theodor Adorno, Peggy Seeger, Alma Mahler, and others. They also collaborate as Permanent Six Flags with writer Emily Martin. Since 2016, Derek has released experimental music and archival audio documents from artists such as Anne-F Jacques, David Wojnarowicz, Marcin Barski, Ishmael Reed, Fred Moten, Blanche Blanche Blanche, and Carman Moore. The Holy Restaurant is Derek’s new work of chamber/audio music.

https://recitalprogram.bandcamp.com/album/curtain

Opening Curtain is the eponymous piece. A 21-minute live chamber work for quintet recorded in 2018. A musical assemblage of glued-together fragments and scraps of sheet music from Baron’s past. Compositions wrote in the small margins and folds of paper; illustrated in the art booklet included with the LP. The flute, violin, guitar, keyboard, and bass clarinet phrases saunter at a pre-sleep pace, until a subdued, yet ecstatic Mass theme ushers in periodically. Delivering the warmth of life… it is a slow beauty. It brings me such happiness listening to this piece. Its continuity is cut with scissors and pasted about oddly… all soaked in a certain malaise; a resigned grace. 

I like his album “curtain” very much. I think the first part is very like “Chinese” music because of the scale and the texture of the flute. I think the whole album is very clear, you can actually taste what is in it naturally? I like the way he is using his piano. it is very fragmented but also very melodious.

My inspiration (after the lecture):