Believe it or not, my music is featured on this Sunday’s Bang on a Can marathon at Mass MOCA. The last time I had a piece on Bang on a Can was either 1989 or 1990, I can’t remember. They requested, this time, to perform my Snake Dance No. 3, a 2010 piece I’m a little dubious about. It’s the piece in which I added synthesizers and fretless bass playing a 19-tone (non-equal) scale to the core percussion ensemble of my previous snake dances. The piece had some problems at its premiere, which was well played, but there was no attempt to sonically integrate the percussion and synthesizers, and the current recording sounds oddly artificial. There were also some things I didn’t like about it, which this performance has given me the impetus to correct, tightening up the form and melodic lines. I hope it pleases me more this time.
Kyle Gann on music after the fact
