Mauricio Kagel - 1974 - Exotica & Tactil

Mauricio Kagel

1974 

Exotica & Tactil

01. Exotica

02. Tactil

Composed By – Mauricio Kagel

Exotica (1970/71) for extra-European instruments

Tactil (1970) for three

Mauricio Kagel’s Exotica (1970–71) and Tactil (1970), originally released on Deutsche Grammophon’s Avant Garde series in 1972 and later compiled in various formats (notably a 1994 CD by Auvidis Montaigne, catalog MO 782017), are audacious experiments in conceptual music that gleefully subvert Western classical traditions. Exotica, a nearly 50-minute work for six players wielding around 200 non-European instruments, is a theatrical sonic odyssey that toys with cultural mimicry and authenticity. Tactil, a 14-minute trio for two guitars and piano, strips “light music” rhythms to their skeletal essence, revealing surprising depth in what could have been a prank. These pieces, performed by luminaries like Michel Portal and Vinko Globokar, embody Kagel’s penchant for irony and intellectual provocation, as if he decided to troll ethnomusicology while crafting art. In this scholarly yet accessible analysis, I’ll dissect the works’ musical structures, review their strengths and weaknesses, provide biographical sketches of key musicians, and situate Exotica and Tactil within the cultural landscape of the early 1970s. Expect a dash of wit and sarcasm, as befits a composer who’d probably chuckle at the idea of being “understood” by the mainstream—or anyone, really, who thinks music should behave itself.

Exotica and Tactil feature an elite ensemble of avant-garde specialists, conducted by Kagel himself for Exotica and performed with precision for Tactil. Below are backgrounds for Kagel and key players, drawn from AllMusic, Discogs, Gramophone, and YellowBarn, with details from BOMB Magazine and Wikipedia.

Mauricio Kagel (composer, conductor, Exotica): Born December 24, 1931, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Russian-Jewish anarchist parents who fled post-October Revolution pogroms, Mauricio Raúl Kagel (died September 18, 2008) was a self-taught composer whose eclectic career spanned music, film, and theater. Educated in piano, cello, clarinet, and conducting in Buenos Aires, he studied literature with Jorge Luis Borges and worked at the Teatro Colón before moving to Cologne, Germany, in 1957 on a scholarship, per Wikipedia. A maverick in the European avant-garde, Kagel taught at Darmstadt (1960–66, 1972–76) and the Köln Hochschule (1974–97), influencing composers like John Zorn, per BOMB Magazine. His works, like Staatstheater (1970, a “ballet for non-dancers” with chamber pots as instruments), blend serialism, musique concrète, and absurdism, interrogating music’s societal role, per YellowBarn. Picture him as a musical Duchamp, smirking at tradition while waving a sitar, knowing his “self-irony and paradox” would baffle record store clerks who filed him under “classical” for lack of a better bin.

Michel Portal (performer, Exotica): Born November 27, 1935, in Bayonne, France, Portal is a multi-instrumentalist (clarinet, saxophone) and composer renowned for his versatility across jazz, classical, and avant-garde. A stalwart of European new music, he collaborated with Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Kagel, per AllMusic. His improvisational flair on Exotica, navigating unfamiliar non-Western instruments, adds a playful edge, as Discogs credits his role in the 1972 premiere. Portal’s like the guy who walks into a room full of exotic instruments and says, “Sure, I’ll make that sound profound,” then does it with a wink.

Vinko Globokar (performer, Exotica): Born July 7, 1934, in Anderny, France, to Slovenian parents, Globokar is a trombonist, composer, and improviser central to the avant-garde. A student of Luciano Berio, he performed with Kagel, Boulez, and Stockhausen, known for pushing instrumental boundaries, per AllMusic. His work on Exotica, wrestling with non-European instruments, reflects his experimental ethos, per YellowBarn. Globokar’s the kind of player who’d see a gamelan and think, “Challenge accepted,” then make it sing in ways its makers never imagined.

Christoph Caskel (performer, Exotica): A German percussionist (born 1933, died 2013), Caskel was a new music pioneer, premiering works by Stockhausen (Zyklus) and Kagel. His rhythmic precision on Exotica’s array of percussion, from African to Asian, anchors the chaos, per Discogs. Think of him as the calm center of Kagel’s instrumental storm, banging on a djembe while wondering if this was all just an elaborate prank.

Siegfried Palm (performer, Exotica): Born April 25, 1927, in Barmen, Germany (died 2005), Palm was a cellist and new music advocate, premiering works by Penderecki and Ligeti. His role in Exotica, tackling unfamiliar strings, showcases his adaptability, per YellowBarn. Palm’s like a classical virtuoso who got handed a kora and said, “Fine, I’ll make it work,” with a sigh and a smile.

Wilhelm Bruck (performer, Exotica): A German guitarist and new music specialist, Bruck’s work with Kagel and Stockhausen highlights his versatility. His contribution to Exotica, likely on plucked instruments, adds texture, per Discogs. Bruck’s the guy who probably practiced his sitar part in a Cologne basement, muttering, “Kagel owes me a beer for this.”

Theodor Ross (performer, Exotica): Another German new music performer, Ross’s role in Exotica is less documented but likely involved winds or percussion, per Discogs. He’s the unsung hero, gamely playing whatever Kagel threw at him, probably hoping the score didn’t require him to sing in Swahili.

Kölner Ensemble für Neue Musik (Tactil): This Cologne-based group, active in the 1970s, specialized in avant-garde works, performing Tactil with guitarists Wilhelm Bruck and Theodor Ross, and an unnamed pianist, per Discogs. Known for tackling Stockhausen and Kagel, they brought precision to Tactil’s quirky rhythms, like a team that could make a musical joke sound deadly serious.

This ensemble, handpicked by Kagel, was a who’s-who of new music daredevils, as YellowBarn notes their “well-known” status. They’re like a musical SWAT team, ready to conquer any sonic challenge, even if it meant learning a Balinese gong on a deadline.

The early 1970s were a crucible for musical experimentation. Avant-garde composers like Stockhausen and Cage were dismantling conventions, while jazz-fusion (Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters), Zamrock (Jesper Siliya Lungu’s Giant Steps), and Gwo Ka fusion (Luc-Hubert Séjor’s Mizik Filamonik) explored global sounds. In Europe, the Darmstadt Ferienkurse, where Kagel taught, was a hotbed for new music, fostering works that blurred art and theater, per Wikipedia. The 1972 Munich Olympics, for which Exotica was commissioned, celebrated cultural exchange, though its tragic events overshadowed artistic endeavors, per YellowBarn.

Deutsche Grammophon’s Avant Garde series, which released Exotica (catalog 2530 251), was a platform for radical works, though its discontinuation left Kagel’s music scarce, per BOMB Magazine. Exotica and Tactil reflect the era’s fascination with “world music” (a term less known then, per BOMB Magazine) and conceptual art, akin to Duchamp’s readymades or Borges’s literary puzzles, per YellowBarn. Kagel’s Argentine roots and Jewish identity, shaped by Borges and a skeptical view of authority, infused his work with irony and cultural critique, as he told BOMB Magazine about his “self-irony and never-ending reflection.” In a world grooving to disco and reeling from political unrest, Kagel was busy demystifying music’s pretensions, like a composer who’d rather stage a sonic prank than write a hit single.

Exotica (1970–71) and Tactil (1970) are distinct yet complementary works, paired on releases like the 1994 Auvidis Montaigne CD and a 2007 digital file, per Discogs. Exotica, recorded June 17–19, 1992, by Ensemble Modern under Kagel’s direction, runs 37:33 (1993 MusiKado CD, AUL 66099), while Tactil’s 1974 recording by the Kölner Ensemble clocks in at 14 minutes, per Discogs and Spotify. The works challenge listeners with theatricality and unconventional instrumentation, earning a niche but devoted following, with Rate Your Music rating Exotica modestly (#1540 for 1972) but Discogs users giving the compilation high marks.

Exotica is scored for six performers playing approximately 200 non-European instruments—plucked (sitar, kora), wind (shakuhachi, didgeridoo), string (erhu, sarangi), and percussion (gamelan, djembe)—from Africa, Asia, and beyond, per YellowBarn. Commissioned for the 1972 Munich Olympics, it premiered under Kagel’s direction with Portal, Globokar, Caskel, Palm, Bruck, and Ross, per Discogs. The score, described by Kagel as a “radical expansion of instrumentation,” avoids parody but blurs authenticity, mixing Near Eastern melodies on mid-Asian instruments or far-Eastern timbres in African rhythms, per Discogs. Performers also sing and shout, adding theatricality, as Gramophone notes the need to “see as well as hear” the work.

The structure is episodic, with sections flowing like a global sound collage, incorporating taped fragments of non-European music, per Discogs. Kagel’s “demystification,” per Gramophone, has players encounter unfamiliar instruments, creating “authentic apocrypha” where cultural boundaries dissolve, per Discogs. Stylistically, it’s modern classical with musique concrète and instrumental theater elements, per Rate Your Music, evoking Cage’s prepared piano or Partch’s invented instruments but with a satirical edge, per AllMusic. It’s like a musical anthropology seminar where the professor swapped the syllabus for a prank script, yet the result is strangely profound.

Tactil, for two guitars (Bruck, Ross) and piano, is a compact trio based on “light music” rhythms—think ballroom or pop—stripped of melodies, per Gramophone. The score emphasizes rhythmic interplay, with overlapping patterns creating subtle complexity, as Kagel noted its basis in “rhythms without melodies,” per Gramophone. The guitars pluck and strum in syncopated dialogue, while the piano adds harmonic and percussive accents, per BOMB Magazine. The final section introduces theatricality, with players possibly mimicking gestures, though this is best seen live, per Gramophone.

Stylistically, Tactil is a minimalist exercise in avant-garde wit, blending serialism and absurdism, per AllMusic. It recalls Satie’s ironic simplicity or Cage’s aleatoric experiments but feels like Kagel poking fun at pop’s predictability, per BOMB Magazine. The restricted sound-world yields surprising timbral variety, as Gramophone praises its “unexpected possibilities.” It’s a musical riddle, like Kagel dared you to find depth in a cha-cha rhythm—and won.

Exotica is a bold conceptual triumph, its “radical expansion of instrumentation” creating a sound-world that’s “no longer unequivocal,” per Kagel’s notes in Discogs. The ensemble’s virtuosity—Portal’s winds, Globokar’s strings, Caskel’s percussion—brings Kagel’s vision to life, as YellowBarn praises their “well-known” pedigree. Its theatricality and cultural critique, blending metaphor and quotation, are groundbreaking, per Discogs, influencing experimental composers like Zorn, per BOMB Magazine. Tactil is equally compelling, its minimalist rhythms revealing “unexpected possibilities,” per Gramophone, with the Kölner Ensemble’s precision elevating a potential joke into art, per. The 1994 CD’s sound quality is crisp, and the 2002 Ensemble Modern reissue of Exotica adds modern clarity, per Discogs.

However, Exotica’s length and density can feel indulgent, as Gramophone critiques its “hint of pretentiousness,” risking a “concept” overshadowing musicality, per. Its theatricality demands a visual component, losing impact on audio, per Gramophone. Tactil’s minimalist focus may alienate listeners seeking melody, and its theatrical coda feels incomplete without visuals, per Gramophone. The album’s obscurity, due to Deutsche Grammophon’s discontinued series, limited its reach, per BOMB Magazine, and its niche appeal—Rate Your Music’s low ranking—suits avant-garde devotees, not casual listeners, per. And naming a piece Exotica in 1971? Either a cheeky nod to Martin Denny or a deliberate trap for ethnomusicologists—it’s Kagel, so probably both.

Exotica and Tactil are landmarks of Kagel’s instrumental theater, a genre he pioneered to highlight performance as sensory drama, per ReVista. Exotica’s global instrumentation prefigures the “world music” boom, questioning cultural authenticity decades before postcolonial debates, per BOMB Magazine. Tactil’s rhythmic deconstruction anticipates minimalism’s rise, though with Kagel’s ironic twist, per Gramophone. For scholars, the works challenge music’s Eurocentrism, as Journal of the American Musicological Society might argue, demanding analysis of performance and cultural parody. Kagel’s influence on Zorn and others, per BOMB Magazine, underscores his impact on experimental music, per. Their rediscovery via reissues (1993, 2002, 2007) has cemented their cult status, per Discogs, like avant-garde Easter eggs for crate-diggers.

Contemporary reviews of Exotica and Tactil were sparse, given Deutsche Grammophon’s niche Avant Garde series, but Gramophone (2007) offers insight, praising Tactil’s “subtleties” while questioning Exotica’s “pretentiousness,” per. Rate Your Music ranks Exotica #1540 for 1972, reflecting its cult appeal, with users noting its “musique concrète” and “modern classical” genres, per. Discogs users rate the 1994 CD highly, and AllMusic lauds Kagel’s “versatile, witty” creativity, per. BOMB Magazine’s 2004 interview highlights Exotica’s relevance as world music gained traction, per. The 1993 Ensemble Modern recording of Exotica and 2002 reissue are collector’s items, per Discogs.

The works’ legacy lies in Kagel’s influence on instrumental theater and experimental music, shaping composers like Zorn and inspiring performances like the 2006 Buenos Aires festival, per ReVista. Exotica’s cultural critique and Tactil’s rhythmic innovation remain vital, proving Kagel’s “self-irony and paradox” endure, per BOMB Magazine. They’re avant-garde milestones, even if 1970s audiences were too busy with disco or prog rock to notice.

Exotica and Tactil are Mauricio Kagel at his provocative best, a sonic double-bill that dismantles musical and cultural norms with wit and rigor. Exotica’s global instrumentarium, brought to life by Portal, Globokar, and crew, is a theatrical tour-de-force, while Tactil’s rhythmic spareness proves Kagel could make minimalism mischievous, per Gramophone. Their density and theatricality may daunt some, but their intellectual and sonic rewards are immense, as BOMB Magazine celebrates, per. In the early 1970s, when fusion and disco ruled, Kagel crafted a conceptual rebellion, like a composer who’d rather stage a sitar showdown than chase a hit. The 1994 Auvidis Montaigne CD or 2002 Ensemble Modern reissue are must-haves, per Discogs, proving these works’ timeless audacity.

So, track down the CD, cue up Exotica, and let Kagel’s sonic circus transport you to a world where instruments defy borders and rhythms mock convention. Just don’t expect the mainstream to have cared in 1975; they were too busy dancing to “Stayin’ Alive.” And if anyone calls it “just weird classical,” tell them it’s Kagel rewriting music’s rules with a grin—then watch them scramble for the vinyl.