Much Ado About Humming - Glenn Gould's Imaginary Orchestra

[Sean Malone <spm29386@oregon.uoregon.edu>]

Dear List,

    I didn't mean to come across as coy with my previous post - just that I
have posted a few times already about the papers I've given regarding GG and
his humming/conducting and didn't want to re-launch into it. But since there
are some here who aren't familiar with it, I'll summarize the work I've done
as it may be of interest to some.
    I am a doctoral student in music theory at the University of Oregon,
working on my dissertation "Recursion, Analogy, and Self-Reference in The
Art of Fugue." I'm a composer as well, and a quick visit to my site (given
below) will provide some info with regard to all of that.
    As with many, GG's humming captured my attention and eventually became
an accepted part of his recordings for me. But one day I noticed that there
was a selection when he wasn't singing part of the written score, and that
was the literal "light bulb." To make a long story short, I began
transcribing the vocalizations and compared them to the score and was amazed
to find that often GG was humming an independent contrapuntal part. From
this point forward it was no longer the stuff of ridicule, but an
extraordinary insight into how GG conceptualized music, but also an aspect
to the cognitive functions of the musical mind.
    My first findings were given in a talk at the 1999 gathering in Toronto,
and to my knowledge was the first scholarly investigation into this area of
GG's legacy. This talk, and some transcriptions were published in a
relatively recent issue of Glenn Gould Magazine. As I continued my work my
hypothesis grew into GG's conceptual framework of a composition, and the
context-dependent pressures involved with what line he was singing, or if he
sang his own. The cognitive activity that happens during a real-time
performance are precious and fleeting, and the extraordinary amount of
vocalization coming from GG is in many ways, evidence of his structural
concept of a particular composition. A quote from the paper:


    "Gould's humming, often a different melody from any of the composed
parts, is evidence of his creative mind at work as a composer.  Gould was
not only aware of the surface material, that is, the notes themselves, but
was also aware of a larger framework of background structure manifested in
the independent lines of his humming.  Gould may have visualized a
large-scale, amodal image of the composition¹s structure ­ an abstract
conception of themes, climaxes, and form, etc.  ­ transcending the tactile
and physical requirements of performing the piece.  A performance to Gould
seemed not only to involve an erudite technical and artistic interpretation,
but also an additional level of engagement that set him inside of the
composition; his performance thus became an exposition of musical
structure."



    And here are a few analogies, again quoted from the paper:



    "Singing along with a predominant melody can be achieved without much
consideration of a composition¹s structure; there is a singular, linear
consideration, as if you were driving down one familiar road which will take
you to your destination.  Jumping to another simultaneously sounding voice
requires a greater image of the composition¹s structural framework.  Imagine
driving down a road and deciding to make a turn at an intersection ­ there
would be some forethought involved to prepare for the switch.  One couldn¹t
discover, decide to turn, and physically perform the task all at once.
Singing a new melody would require an image of the entire composition.  This
would be similar to having a road map and choosing which of all available
routes you could take.  The driver would need to be aware of all
possibilities, as if having a birds-eye view of the area to be traveled."



    Combined with the humming were his conductor-like movements. My
hypothesis evolved into the humming being the manifestation of an internal
image, and the conducting being an external connection to it. All of these
components were necessary to Gould in his music making. Another quote:


    "So, if a conductor communicates to other performers, then with whom was
Gould communicating? What is the nature of the communication? I contend that
Gould¹s conducting at the piano is a means of linking the imaginary (or his
conceptual image of the composition) with the real (or the physical
requirements of performance). And most importantly, it was an attempt to
separate himself from the physical requirements of music making, and retreat
into his inner-world of musical imagery.
    I would like to briefly describe several categories of Gould¹s gestures.
Categorization is a valuable means of establishing consistency.  If the
gestures are consistent, then there is a greater chance that the
corresponding cognitive image or function they represent can be identified.

Categories:
1. Palm down, floating for first voice, marking time.
2. During the entrance of a second voice, there is a scooping gesture with
the palm faced toward the body.
3. If the palm is faced inward while two voices are sounding; Gould shakes
his fingers to represent the other voice.
4. Sweeping gestures to indicate phrasing.
5. The body leans closer to the piano once both hands are on the keyboard.
6. A circular, rotating motion at the keyboard.
7. A gesture that accompanies the release of a composition¹s final note that
has been held by the pedal."

    During presentations at conferences, I had with me recordings and video
tape excerpts showing evidence of these motions, and it is at this point
where the audience became rather captivated with the man whom they once
thought was only freakish, whom they now began to understand as having an
unparalleled musical conception and intensity.

    My work continues to evolve in tandem with my dissertation research, and
I have presented my work at five conferences, most notably the Musical
Intersections "Mega Conference" in Toronto a few months ago - a gathering of
the 14 scholarly musical societies in North America. It was an honor for me,
since students are not often picked to present their research, and also
because of the very positive response from the sizable audience. The next
step is to compare these findings with the copies of annotated scores I have
of GG, which illustrate his conscious understanding of the score, with what
I feel was his subconscious manifestation of it.

    The humming is no laughing matter.


    Regarding Bruno, we met at the 1999 Gathering, and a few months later
invited him to present some of his GG films at the University. After trying
to put together all of the funds, it worked out and it was really special.
Last Summer, I was recording my new record in London with Bill Bruford (from
the groups Yes and King Crimson) and spent a few days in Paris to visit with
Bruno. It was great to hear a great many recordings he has of GG practicing,
as well as see many icons and artifacts of his collaboration with him.

    This email is already too long, but I hope it may shed some light on a
topic that is, to me at least, so important. There is much more to the
story, but I'll leave it here for now. Glenn Gould was a genius, in ways we
are only just beginning to understand.

Sincerely,
Sean Malone