Cornelius Cardew gallery

View a selection from images to be presented at an exhibition of Cornelius Cardew's work. The exhibition pays tribute to the British composer and to the activities of the Scratch Orchestra by presenting of the various forms of graphic expression that were vital to the development of Cardew’s ideas, from the abstract shapes of Treatise, through to diagrams and visual instructions, letters and transcripts of discontent, song lyrics, and finally to the more functional agitprop role of graphics as the conveyer of political message. London The Drawing Room, 5 November – 13 December, admission free, www.drawingroom.org.uk

Full information provided by the gallery on the images shown in our taster gallery follows:

Treatise
Cardew’s blueprint for Treatise is central to the exhibition. In this 193-page graphic score Cardew uses lines, symbols and abstract shapes in a bid to release the performer from the constraints of traditional musical notation. The visual eloquence of this score was inspired by his work as a graphic designer for Aldus Books. Originally published with no instructions, Cardew aspired to reverse the dominant role of the composer and rather than prescribe sounds, he sought, through these graphic forms, to stimulate, provoke and inspire. The Treatise Handbook was eventually published in 1971 and provides an insight into the evolution of Cardew’s ideas over the period of its composition.

Schooltime Compositions
This score combines cryptic notes, geometric shapes and diagrams and consists of three distinct areas - emotional, physical, psychological and historical – in which the performer operates. The performers are characters in an opera who discover their roles. Schooltime Compositions was performed over ten-hours at the ICA, London in 1969. This composition marks a move away from pure ‘music’ and ‘musical scores’ and suggests an educative function which anticipates the formation of the Scratch Orchestra. In the words of Cardew’s biographer, John Tilbury, Schooltime Compositions encapsulates his ‘philosophy of musical education: the world as material for musical composition; and the moral dimension of music as an expression of human relations’.

Nature Study Notes
Cornelius Cardew’s notebook contains ‘Improvisation Rites’ contributed by different members of the Scratch Orchestra. In the ‘Scratch Orchestra Draft Constitution’ (1969), Cardew defined ‘Improvisation Rites’ thus: ‘an improvisation rite is not a musical composition; it does not attempt to influence the music that will be played; at most it may establish a community of feeling, or a communal starting-point, through ritual’.
Cardew painstakingly transferred the ‘Improvisation Rites’ into a standard English exercise book that bore the title ‘Nature Study Notes’, given this collection its title. Perhaps more than any other activity, the ‘Improvisation Rites’ characterised the essential nature of the Scratch Orchestra. They originated in the classes Cardew taught at Morley College and referenced Popular Classics and folk traditions. They were coded as follows:
– The Mother (her initials are at the head of the code name) who wrote it down as a rite
– The Father (F) who provided the idea
– Any other relatives that the Mother sees fit to recall
– An Ancestor (A) or Archetype, identifying the basic human or non-human state, activity or event the rite bears on

The Great Learning
Cardew is perhaps best known for his ambitious score for The Great Learning (1968-70), a work in seven parts which instigated the formation of the Scratch Orchestra in 1969. Anyone was invited to join the Scratch Orchestra, regardless of their musical skills or aptitude. Its membership included artists associated with Fluxus, musicians and other interested parties. The Great Learning - contentswhich was realised to the full through the Scratch Orchestra, whose membership included artists associated with Fluxus, musicians and non-musicians. This group represents one of the most radical forms of improvisatory, cross-disciplinary and collective art-making of this period. During 1970-1 Scratch Orchestra concerts and happenings, some carefully planned and others impromptu, took place throughout the country, in town halls, on the street, outside Euston station, in the National Gallery or on the London Underground.

Revolution Is The Main Trend
The text in Revolution is the Main Trend is by Mao Tse-tung. In 1971-2 Cardew became engaged in a radical reconsideration of all his work up to this time and adopted a Marxist-Leninist position. He thoroughly revoked the ethos of the Scratch Orchestra and, many of his earlier endeavours in his book ‘Stockhausen Serves Imperialism’ (1974). He turned his back on avant-garde artistic practices and embraced political militancy using classical and folk traditions to inspire the composition of lyrical protest songs.