I wish there were classes like this when I went to college. Harvard students attended a music class taught by Damon Krukowski called “Noisy Art”. They explored the concept of noise art as represented by the theories of John Cage but also applied it by attempting to make their own art from noise. They went to the local Goodwill store and chose their “instruments” which could be anything that made a sound. Their guide for cacophony came from the British composer Cornelius Cardew who had similar ideas in the makings with his Scratch Orchestra in 1969. Hence the name of The Itchy and Scratchy Orchestra as a salute to Cardew as well as to our own modern culture.

This is a curious recording. It is a single track session of their Harvard concert. The works are from graphic scores rather than musically notated ones and require no musical experience. The sound is poor and inconsistent. A hand on the volume control is strongly advised as it fades in and out. More importantly, it can be argued whether these students are performing good music, bad music, or even music at all. I must admit it is difficult for me to sit through even the 17 minutes duration of this recording. So why did I bother to feature this work? Because it is good to hear that which confounds our expectations. If anything, this work will cause us to discuss what is music, what is art, and what is just noise. I do not pretend to have the answer.

The work is available from Ubuweb in 320kbps MP3.

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