This project came from a simple idea and grew to unsuspected dimensions. Frog Peak's
Larry Polansky and
Chris Mann devised a 66-second sound-speech piece.
Mann's voice was altered as he read a grammatically challenging text. The piece was posted on the Internet and an invitation was sent to composers around the world to create 60-second pieces using this file. The two-CD set
The Frog Peak Collaborations Project presents 114 entries, plus the original soundfile. Composers from every part of the world contributed (there is a strong contingent of Australians, but that's because curator
Polansky was based there at the time). So, basically, these two CDs contain one-minute pieces (there are a few exceptions) based on the same source and presented in their order of submission. The idea is interesting, but the result is mitigated. Some tracks are really impressive (Lawrence Fritts' "Minute Variations," D'Arcy Philip Gray's "the Reason" suite, Kevin Clelland's "Seven Sisters Under a Full Moon" suite, and Peggy Madden's kitschy "Adnawat," to name but a few) and it is fascinating to hear how many different approaches have been used to treat the file, from computer algorithms to musique concrète techniques. But, the fact that many composers kept recognizable excerpts of the original text creates a redundant effect on the long run, and the decision to present the pieces arbitrarily doesn't help to create any feeling of cohesion. Therefore,
The Frog Peak Collaborations Project is hard to swallow all at once but, experienced in small doses (and with the inevitable weaker pieces discarded), it provides a rich sonic experience. ~ François Couture