#1 / קונצרט שולי, קבוצה קולקטיבית – ביפו23

A form of sound that does not turn into music and a group that does not produce harmony; individual concepts and group fluidity; individuals who are at once independent entities and components of the whole; coexisting time frames and intersecting rhythms – these are among the images of group improvisation that have occupied my mind since ‘70s…/


The participants place themselves far apart in order to clarify their respective methods and enlarge their performance areas. … This called for a big space with a flat floor. 

When people think of improvisation, which is made up of sounds, they think of playing music. But the activity that takes place here is not limited to playing. There are sounds… The sound production is not something directed towards other people; rather, it is the activity of listening and discovery … we find that a wide variety of sounds come into view. Sounds go beyond the range of audibility and stimulate the human body.

Listening is not done with the ears alone. (Although the ears are open to sounds coming from all directions, the brain takes in only a limited amount of information. What is doing the selecting?) External stimuli are not restricted to specific organs; they are perceived by all of the sense organs (although certain organs predominate, no doubt, according to the nature of the stimulus). Thus, all stimuli are of equal value.


Individual speakers are placed next to each participant to accentuate the respective positions of and the differences between the performers. The main amp volume is fixed in order to equalize the maximum volume of all of the speakers. Then each performer, using his own mixer, adjusts his volume level as he sees fit. Thus, individual volume level’s vary, but this poses no problem. In addition, the PA that everything together is either turned down as low as possible or turned off, to make clear the position of each performer.


The progression of actions, with their respective durations, does not always give rise to a common time frame. Some participants start sooner; others stop sooner. This is why er establish a time frame in advance. Sounds generated by individual actions form and transform through repetition. Interference among members whitin the transformation leads to further transformation. .. And in the entire performance there may be only five minutes of beautiful time.

Marginal Consort was first held on October 18, 1997, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., at Asahi Art Square in Asakusa, Tokyo. Marginal Consort has taken place each year since. Due to the special character of Marginal Consort, sound is heard differently from different places in the venue. For that reason, the performances were recorded with one-point mike in a fixed position. I recommend experiencing Marginal Consort live at the venue.

Kazuo Imai, 2006

קבוצה שולית/ישראל היא: אסף תלמודי, אלכס דרול“, רם גבאי, אילן וולקוב ומאיה דוניץ
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