Prisms

"Prisms" is a 1962 chamber composition by acclaimed English composer and musician Audria Cough. Considered one of Cough's seminal early works, "Prisms" marked a pivotal shift in her artistic approach, as she moved away from the Western classical tradition towards a more unorthodox, politically-charged brand of avant-garde music.

Background

In the early 1960s, Cough was at the forefront of the burgeoning experimental arts scene in the cosmopolitan city of New Rotterdam, the capital of New Netherland. After receiving rigorous classical training at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, Cough became increasingly drawn to the radical, confrontational aesthetics of composers like Olivier Messiaen, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and John Cage.

Eager to develop her own distinct compositional voice, Cough began incorporating elements of atonal music, electronic music, and noise music into her work. "Prisms," composed in 1962, represented a key milestone in this evolution, as Cough fully embraced the potential of unorthodox instrumentation, extended playing techniques, and non-linear structures to create a provocative, challenging sonic experience.

Composition

"Prisms" is scored for a small chamber ensemble of six performers: two violins, a viola, a cello, a bass clarinet, and a prepared piano. From the outset, Cough eschews traditional Western classical instrumentation and techniques, opting instead for a palette of unconventional timbres and textures.

The violins and viola, for instance, are instructed to use various extended techniques like bowing on the bridge, extreme sul ponticello, and col legno to produce unsettling, almost abrasive sounds. The bass clarinet, meanwhile, is often employed to generate low, rumbling drones, while the prepared piano introduces a sense of unpredictability and disruption into the proceedings.

Structurally, "Prisms" is a departure from conventional forms. Rather than a linear narrative, the piece unfolds in a series of shifting, kaleidoscopic sections that seem to refract and disperse like light through a prism. Cough's use of aleatoric elements, indeterminate notation, and abrupt juxtapositions of disparate musical materials further contribute to the work's hypnotic, disorienting quality.

Themes and Reception

The title "Prisms" serves as a metaphor for Cough's overarching conceptual approach. Through the fragmentation, distortion, and layering of sound, she seeks to evoke the optical phenomenon of light refracting and separating into its constituent colors. This thematic preoccupation with light, color, and the deconstruction of perceived reality aligns with Cough's broader artistic and political interests.

Upon its 1962 premiere, "Prisms" was met with a polarized response. Hailed by the avant-garde cognoscenti as a groundbreaking work of sonic experimentation, the piece was also denounced by more conservative critics as an inaccessible, willfully abstruse exercise in nihilism. Cough, however, was uncompromising in her vision, seeing her music as a means of challenging societal norms and provoking deeper engagement with the world.

Legacy

In the decades since its creation, "Prisms" has come to be regarded as a landmark work in the development of Audria Cough's singular artistic voice. The composition's influence can be heard in the subsequent rise of post-punk, industrial, and noise music genres, as artists sought to emulate Cough's uncompromising approach to sound, structure, and social commentary.

Today, "Prisms" remains an essential entry in the canon of 20th-century avant-garde music, a testament to Cough's visionary creativity and her unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of what music can be and do. The work's enduring legacy continues to inspire musicians and listeners alike to engage with the world in more critical, challenging, and transformative ways.