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Alvin Lucier - Silver Street Car

The performance consists of moving the geographical locations of these two activities and changing the speed and loudness of the tapping. During the course of the performance, the acoustic characteristics of the folded metal bar are revealed. Using one hand to dampen the triangle with the thumb and forefinger, the player taps the instrument with the other.

The title of the work was taken from the Surrealist text, Instrumentation (1922), by Luis Bunuel.
Triangle: Ross Parfitt

 
 
Download Alvin Lucier - Silver Street Car (MP3, 10.1 MB)
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The American composer Alvin Lucier was an early pioneer of sound works which use systems as a generative device. This work has a strong connection to the artistic strategies represented in Open Systems: Rethinking Art c.1970

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