I’m very happy to welcome Randall Hall back to the platform for another wonderful discussion about music. In this second solo conversation with saxophonist, composer, and scholar Randall Hall, we use speculative music as a springboard to explore the esoteric varieties of sound. Drawing on Randall’s recordings Mars Rising, The Sacred Shouting to Itself, and Sol, we discuss improvisation and emergence, technology and creative autonomy, Plato and transcendence, and Henry Corbin’s concept of the Imaginal. Taking a cue from William James, we consider how different modes of making, listening to, and engaging with sound might produce different varieties of encounter, and whether sound itself can function as a threshold between material and transcendent realities. We also explore harsh noise, contemplative sound, intentionality, and the possibility that music can communicate experiences that resist expression through language.
I’m very happy to welcome Randall Hall back to the platform for another wonderful discussion about music.
In this second solo conversation with saxophonist, composer, and scholar Randall Hall, we use speculative music as a springboard to explore the esoteric varieties of sound. Drawing on Randall’s recordings Mars Rising, The Sacred Shouting to Itself, and Sol, we discuss improvisation and emergence, technology and creative autonomy, Plato and transcendence, and Henry Corbin’s concept of the Imaginal.
Taking a cue from William James, we consider how different modes of making, listening to, and engaging with sound might produce different varieties of encounter, and whether sound itself can function as a threshold between material and transcendent realities. We also explore harsh noise, contemplative sound, intentionality, and the possibility that music can communicate experiences that resist expression through language.
Randall is Professor of Music at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where he teaches saxophone, improvisation, music history, and liberal studies. He is internationally active as a performer and clinician, and has given concerts throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He has also given lectures and master-classes on the aesthetics and techniques of new music at institutions around the world, including Harvard University, Cornell University, the Luxembourg Conservatory, and the Trans- States Conference in the UK.
Randall moves at the sonic limits of the instrument to delve into the mythic, the esoteric, and the apophatic. As a leading interpreter of contemporary music for saxophone, his performances unite new composition, improvisations, experimental playing techniques, and cutting-edge electronics. The Wire declares that he plays with “utter confidence,” “fire and teeth,” and “unexpectedly tough beauty” while Innova Recordings describes his music as “high-octane, supercharged sax.”
He is the recipient of numerous honors including a Fulbright Grant, Frank Huntington Beebe Grant, Presser Music Award, first prize in the Concour Région Ile-de-France, and was a semifinalist in the first Jean-Marie Londeix International Competition. Dr. Hall holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (DMA), the New England Conservatory (MM), the Conservatoire National de Région de Boulogne-Billancourt, France (Premier prix), and Warner Pacific College (BS).
Music clips used in this video, provided by Randall Hall:
Mars Rising, track 2: Havoc
The Sacred Shouting to Itself, track 2: Of the Wind & the Birds
Sol, track 5: Transcendence
You can find Randall's music at Bandcamp: https://randallhall.bandcamp.com/
PROGRAM NOTES:
https://www.youtube.com/@UCJsuENYWRUPEnqFcbaT6k6Q https://youtu.be/O8enaeRIPdI?si=z4FOnUS5sV2ObLEP
http://randallhall.net/
Randall Hall - Augustana College at Rock Island
Eliane Radigue (mentioned by Randall in this interview), Trilogy of Death: https://youtu.be/ROIvsRd3Ijc?si=wGkcDcYAcM0KNq6V
Theme Music and Editing: Daniel P. Shea
End Production: Stephanie Shea
Photo Source (Thumbnail): www.warnerpacific.edu