Other Minds Archives Online : External collection : Relâche Collection [OMA.COL009.REL] (original) (raw)

AboutA curated digital collection of audio recordings documenting concerts produced by Relâche (The Ensemble for Contemporary Music) from 1977-1989. Material was provided to Other Minds by composer and Relâche co-director Joseph Franklin. The original audio tape reels were digitized by Relâche’s longtime engineer Werner Strobel and many of them are now part of Other Minds’ tape collection housed in Special Collections in the McHenry Library at the University of California Santa Cruz.

About Relâche:

"Relâche was formed in September 1976 by Joseph Showalter with the idea that there was and is a definite need for musicians and audience alike to extend their scope of experience beyond the prevalent and seemingly ceaseless diet of music from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Music of the 20th century needs an audience and the only way to build an audience is to perform the music. Our programs are designed to present as much of a variety of styles as is possible with the feeling that there is no such thing as a 'better' style. With this second season [1977] and with the addition of Joseph Franklin as co-director, Relâche hopes to expand the musical life of both musicians and audience alike in the Philadelphia area.

Finally, I have often been asked what Relâche means to which I can only quote the artist Francis Picabia who said of Erik Satie's ballet Relâche, 'When will people get out of the habit of explaining everything....' " - [from program notes by Joseph Showalter and Joseph Franklin, November 2, 1977]