Pauline Oliveros – Lear: Not Insane

So, what is “Lear” all about? Is it about the mythical King Lear, who with his insanity and depression would set a rather dark tone? Or (I guess not) about Learjets and their lofty luxury they offer the affluent customer? Well, “lofty” is actually one of the adjectives I would use to describe “Lear,” but by far not the only one. Oliveros’ piece presents the listener with an idiosyncratic mixture of emotions and tones, carefully layered on top of each other but still harmonizing in a way, fading in and out again just like the whole piece does.  Starting off with almost inaudible, subliminal low frequencies, the first ascent begins around minute one with “spacey” sounds entering the stage. It is hard to distinguish any instruments, making it easy to believe the sound (and its effects) is indeed what Oliveros is after, not specific instruments and their connotations in a listener’s mind.

Above an ostinato-like deep melody, different motifs interplay with each other. In my view, the most significant are some “heroic” fifths moving upwards and downwards (audible around minute 1:30), from E to B and back again, and sometimes towards a disturbing second (F). Around minute 3:05, Oliveros uses melodies that remind me of drug-induced rock music of the 1960s and 1970s with their slightly “Oriental” touch. Around minute 3:40, an ethereal motif takes hold with a far-off horn growing stronger and stronger before dropping into oblivion, and a “spacey” theme appears around minute 7:40. It struck me how many “beautiful” passages happen in this piece. Of course, some harmonies might appear to be odd, and perhaps they actually are; But all in all, there is nothing to really frighten a listener acquainted with modern styles, including hip-hop and pop music.

While the pace of the piece is generally calm, there are some instances of low-key drama, for example around 14:15 with high-pitched, levitating Ds. These have a vaguely physical effect, but to the opposite of Lucier’s shrieking noises: They are almost “fairy-like” and somewhat tranquilizing. The same goes for the last dramatic climax of the piece (17:30), which however is not showy or sensationalist at all – instead it just fades out.

With “Lear,” Pauline Oliveros indeed takes a big step away from “hard-core” avantgarde music to something an average person could genuinely enjoy. The piece still is by no means classical but has fewer elements in it that are apt to entirely alienate that demographic. Just as “Lear” does neither start nor end with a bang, the piece has a calming or rather tranquilizing effect with all the little interjections pulling different strings one one’s consciousness in unexpected moments. The insanity of King “Lear” is thus not real insanity, but rather another facet of consciousness lying hidden to the superficial observer but present in everyone. In other words: “Lear” tells us to accept the facets of consciousness previously decried as insanity, and mixes them with the dreamy and carefree air of flying in a Learjet.