James Tenney (August 10, 1934 – August 24, 2006) was an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

and

music theorist Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the " rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation ( ...

. He made significant early musical contributions to plunderphonics, sound synthesis, algorithmic composition, process music,

spectral music Spectral music uses the acoustic properties of sound – or sound spectra – as a basis for composition. Definition Defined in technical language, spectral music is an acoustic musical practice where compositional decisions are often informe ...

microtonal music Microtonal music or microtonality is the use in music of microtones— intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of ...

, and tuning systems including extended

just intonation In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the tuning of musical intervals as whole number ratios (such as 3:2 or 4:3) of frequencies. An interval tuned in this way is said to be pure, and is called a just interval. Just intervals (and ...

. His theoretical writings variously concern

musical form In music, ''form'' refers to the structure of a musical composition or performance. In his book, ''Worlds of Music'', Jeff Todd Titon suggests that a number of organizational elements may determine the formal structure of a piece of music, such ...

, texture, timbre,

consonance and dissonance In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness, unpl ...

, and harmonic perception.

Biography

James Tenney was born in Silver City,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

, and grew up in Arizona and Colorado. He attended the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

, the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

, Bennington College (B.A., 1958) and the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

(M.A., 1961). He studied

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

with Eduard Steuermann and composition with

Chou Wen-chung Chou Wen-chung (; July 28, 1923 – October 25, 2019) was a Chinese American composer of contemporary classical music. He emigrated in 1946 to the United States and received his music training at the New England Conservatory and Columbia Univer ...

, Lionel Nowak, Paul Boepple,

Henry Brant Henry Dreyfuss Brant (September 15, 1913 – April 26, 2008) was a Canadian-born American composer. An expert orchestrator with a flair for experimentation, many of Brant's works featured spatialization techniques. Biography Brant was born i ...

, Carl Ruggles, Kenneth Gaburo,

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading f ...

Harry Partch Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer, music theorist, and creator of unique musical instruments. He composed using scales of unequal intervals in just intonation, and was one of the first 20th-century com ...

, and

Edgard Varèse Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (; also spelled Edgar; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coine ...

. He also studied

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acousticia ...

information theory Information theory is the scientific study of the quantification, storage, and communication of information. The field was originally established by the works of Harry Nyquist and Ralph Hartley, in the 1920s, and Claude Shannon in the 1940s. ...

and tape music composition under

Lejaren Hiller Lejaren Arthur Hiller Jr. (February 23, 1924, New York City – January 26, 1994, Buffalo, New York)Lejaren H ...

. In 1961, Tenney completed an influential

master's thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

entitled ''Meta (+) Hodos'' that made one of the earliest applications, if not the earliest application, of gestalt theory and cognitive science to music. His later writings include "Temporal gestalt perception in music" in the ''

Journal of Music Theory The ''Journal of Music Theory'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established by David Kraehenbuehl ( Yale University) in 1957. According to its website, " e ''Journal of Music Theory'' fosters ...

'', the chapter "John Cage and the Theory of Harmony" in ''Writings about

'', and the book ''A History of Consonance and Dissonance'', among others. Tenney's earliest works show the influence of Webern, Ruggles and Varèse, while a gradual assimilation of the ideas of John Cage influenced the development of his music in the 1960s. In 1961 he composed the early plunderphonic composition ''Collage No.1 (Blue Suede)'' (for tape) by sampling and manipulating a recording of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

. His music from 1961 to 1964 was largely

computer music Computer music is the application of computing technology in music composition, to help human composers create new music or to have computers independently create music, such as with algorithmic composition programs. It includes the theory and ...

completed at

Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mul ...

in New Jersey with Max Mathews. As such it constitutes one of the earliest significant bodies of algorithmically composed and computer synthesized music. Examples include ''Analog #1 (Noise Study)'' (1961) for tape using computer synthesized noise, and ''Phases'' (1963). Tenney lived in or near New York City throughout the 1960s, where he was actively involved with

Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finished product. Fluxus ...

, the Judson Dance Theater, and the ensemble Tone Roads, which he co-founded with Malcolm Goldstein and

Philip Corner Philip Lionel Corner (born April 10, 1933; name sometimes given as Phil Corner) is an American composer, trombonist, alphornist, vocalist, pianist, music theorist, music educator, and visual artist. Biography After The High School of Music & Ar ...

. He was exceptionally dedicated to the music of American composer

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed ...

, many of whose compositions he conducted; his interpretation of Ives' ''

Concord Sonata The Piano Sonata No. 2, ''Concord, Mass., 1840–60'' (commonly known as the ''Concord Sonata'') is a piano sonata by Charles Ives. It is one of the composer's best-known and most highly regarded pieces. A typical performance of the piece lasts ar ...

'' for piano was much praised. Tenney collaborated closely as both musician and actor with his then-partner, the artist

Carolee Schneemann Carolee Schneemann (October 12, 1939 – March 6, 2019) was an American visual experimental artist, known for her multi-media works on the body, narrative, sexuality and gender. She received a B.A. in poetry and philosophy from Bard College and ...

(who he met in New York in 1955) until their separation in 1968. With Schneemann he co-starred in ''Fuses,'' a 1965 silent film of collaged and painted sequences of lovemaking. Tenney created the sound collages for Schneemann's ''Viet Flakes'', 1965, and ''Snows'', 1970, and performed in the New York City production of ''Meat Joy'', 1964, Schneemann’s orgiastic celebration of the expressive body.Notes_on_Fuseology_Carolee_Schneemann
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artists that included

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, ...

, Nam June Paik, Dick Higgins, Jackson Mac Low, Joseph Byrd, Phil Corner, Alison Knowles and Max Neuhaus. Tenney was one of four performers of

's ''Pendulum Music'' (1967) on May 27, 1969, at the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

, alongside Michael Snow, Richard Serra and Bruce Nauman. Tenney also performed with

(in a production of Partch's ''The Bewitched'' in 1959),

(in the mid-1960s),

, and

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive ...

(the latter two in the late 1960s). All of Tenney's compositions after 1970 are instrumental music (occasionally with tape-delay), and most since 1972 reflect an interest in harmonic perception and unconventional tuning systems. Significant works include ''Clang'' (1972) for orchestra, ''Quintext'' (1972) for string quintet, ''Spectral CANON for CONLON Nancarrow'' (1974) for player piano, ''Glissade'' (1982) for viola, cello, double bass and tape delay system, ''Bridge'' (1982–84) for two pianos eight hands in a microtonal tuning system, ''Changes'' (1985) for six harps tuned a sixth of a semitone apart, ''Critical Band'' (1988) for variable instrumentation and ''In a Large Open Space'' (1994) for variable instrumentation. His pieces are often

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...

s to other composers or colleagues and subtitled as such. Tenney taught at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn,

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

, the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

, the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, University of Califor ...

, and

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. His students include

John Luther Adams John Luther Adams (born January 23, 1953) is an American composer whose music is inspired by nature, especially the landscapes of Alaska, where he lived from 1978 to 2014. His orchestral work '' Become Ocean'' was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize ...

, John Bischoff, Michael Byron, Allison Cameron,

Raven Chacon Raven Chacon (born 1977) is a Diné-American composer, musician and artist. Born in Fort Defiance, Arizona within the Navajo Nation, Chacon became the first Native American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music, for his '' Voiceless Mass'' in 2022. ...

, Eric de Visscher, Miguel Frasconi, Peter Garland, Douglas Kahn, Carson Kievman, Ingram Marshall, Andra McCartney,

Larry Polansky Larry Polansky (born 1954) is a composer, guitarist, mandolinist, and professor emeritus at Dartmouth College and the University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land ...

Carl Stone Carl Stone (born Carl Joseph Stone, February 10, 1953) is an American composer, primarily working in the field of live electronic music. His works have been performed in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the ...

, Charlemagne Palestine, Marc Sabat, Chiyoko Slavnics, Catherine Lamb, Michael Winter, and Daniel Corral. () Tenney died on 24 August 2006 of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17 ...

Selected Recordings

As sole composer

*''The Music Of James Tenney: Selected Works 1963–1984'' (1984,

Musicworks ''Musicworks'' is a Canadian avant-garde music magazine, launched in January 1978 by Andrew Timar ( editor-in-chief) and John Oswald (design and production). History The first 4 issues came as a supplement to ''Only Paper Today'', a Toronto a ...

) *''Selected Works 1961–1969'' (1992,

Frog Peak Music Frog Peak Music is a composer's collective that produces and distributes experimental works, and functions as a home for its artists. It was co-founded in 1984 by Jody Diamond and Larry Polansky. "Frog Peak Music is dedicated to exploring innovati ...

) *''Bridge and Flocking'' (1996, hat ART) *''The Solo Works for Percussion'' (1998, Matthias Kaul, hat ART) *''Music for Violin and Piano'' (1999, hat ART) *''Forms 1–4: In Memoriam Edgar Varèse, John Cage, Stefan Wolpe, Morton Feldman'' (2002,

Ensemble Musikfabrik The Ensemble Musikfabrik (music factory ensemble) is an ensemble for contemporary classical music located in Cologne. Their official name is Ensemble Musikfabrik Landesensemble NRW e.V. (Ensemble Musikfabrik of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, ...

, hat ART) *''Pika-Don'' (2004, hat ART) *''Postal Pieces'' (2004, The Barton Workshop, New World Records) *''Melody, Ergodicity And Indeterminacy'' (2007, The Barton Workshop, Mode Records) *''Arbor Vitæ: Quatuors + Quintettes'' (2008,

Quatuor Bozzini The Quatuor Bozzini is a string quartet that specializes in new and experimental music based in Montreal, Canada. Since 1999, Quatuor Bozzini has been an original voice in new, experimental and classical music. Their skew is radically contemporar ...

) *''Spectrum Pieces'' (2009, The Barton Workshop, New World Records) *''Old School: James Tenney'' (2010, Zeitkratzer) *''Having Never Written a Note for Percussion'' (2015, Rrose, Further Records) *''Bass Works'' (2016, Dario Calderone, hat ART) *''Harmonium'' (2018, Scordatura Ensemble, New World Records)

Individual works

*''Saxony'' ** David Mott,

Composers Recordings, Inc. Composers Recordings, Inc. (CRI) was an American record label dedicated to the recording of contemporary classical music by American composers. It was founded in 1954 by Otto Luening, Douglas Moore, and Oliver Daniel, and based in New York City. ...

1985 ** Henrik Frisk, ''Inventions of Solitude'', Hornblower Recordings 1995 ** Ulrich Krieger, ''Walls of Sound'', OODiscs 1996 ** Ryan Muncy, ''ism'', Tundra/New Focus 2016 *''Ergodos I For John Cage'' ** James Tenney, ''A Chance Operation: The John Cage Tribute'', Koch International Classics) 1993 *''Koan: Having Never Written a Note for Percussion'' **

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of t ...

, '' Goodbye 20th Century'', SYR 1999 ** William Winant, ''Five American Percussion Pieces'', Poon Village 2013

References

Sources * * * * * * * * *

External links

James Tenney at plainsound.org
including a complete list of works and a selection of Tenney's writings.

(book by

)
Performance film ''Having Never''
inspired by the Tenney composition ''Having Never Written a Note for Percussion'', a "Postcard Piece" with Danny Holt performing. Directed by Raffaello Mazza.

Listening

Extensive YouTube channel
dedicated to the music of James Tenney

Spectral Variation No 1
recording of premiere at DNK Amsterdam by Ciarán Maher
Just intonation version of Tenney's Chromatic Canon for Two Pianos, using the tuning system provided by Tenney
Groups who often perform Tenney's works:
Array MusicQuatuor Bozzini

Interviews

by Douglas Kahn in 1999 * (includes video)
Hermits of Re-Tuning (Show 115)
James Tenney interviewed on

Kalvos & Damian New Music Bazaar Kalvos & Damian New Music Bazaar is a contemporary new music program hosted by Kalvos and Damian, the alter egos of the composers Dennis Bathory-Kitsz and David Gunn. Beginning in 1995, the program aired for over 10 years on Goddard College's ra ...

, August 2, 1997 (click to listen)
James Tenney interviewed byAmerican Mavericks
(click to listen) * Schneemann, Carolee with Robert Enright. 1998.
Notes on Fuseology: Carolee Schneemann Remembers James Tenney
. ''Border Crossings'' 132 (December 2014). {{DEFAULTSORT:Tenney, James 20th-century classical composers American experimental musicians American classical composers 20th-century American composers Canadian classical composers Canadian experimental musicians 20th-century Canadian composers Computer music Just intonation composers Microtonal composers Fluxus Minimalist composers Spectral music American electronic musicians American music theorists Pupils of John Cage Pupils of Carl Ruggles Pupils of Chou Wen-chung Pupils of Eduard Steuermann Pupils of Edgard Varèse Pupils of Harry Partch Pupils of Henry Brant Pupils of Kenneth Gaburo Polytechnic Institute of New York University faculty California Institute of the Arts faculty York University faculty People from Silver City, New Mexico Musicians from New Mexico Musicians from Denver Bennington College alumni Experimental Music Studios alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni University of Illinois alumni American male classical composers Deaths from lung cancer in California 1934 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American musicologists 20th-century American male musicians

Biography

Selected Recordings

As sole composer

Individual works

References

Further reading

External links

Listening

Interviews