(also known as The Group or ) was an

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

free improvisation Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...

group considered the first experimental composers collective.

History

The collective was formed by Italian composer Franco Evangelisti in Rome in 1964. Drawing on

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, serialism,

musique concrete Musique is the French word for music. Musique may also refer to: Music *Musique (disco band), a 1970s studio band produced by Patrick Adams *Musique, a British dance act consisting of Moussa Clarke and Nick Hanson best known for their 2001 song ...

, and other avant-garde techniques developed by contemporary classical music composers such as

Luigi Nono Luigi Nono (; 29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990) was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music. Biography Early years Nono, born in Venice, was a member of a wealthy artistic family; his grandfather was a notable painter. Nono beg ...

and Giacinto Scelsi, the group was dedicated to the development of new music techniques by improvisation, noise-techniques, and anti-musical systems. The group members and frequent guests made use of extended techniques on traditional classical instruments, as well as

prepared piano A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sounds temporarily altered by placing bolts, screws, mutes, rubber erasers, and/or other objects on or between the strings. Its invention is usually traced to John Cage's dance music for ''Works for p ...

tape music Jack Dangers (born John Stephen Corrigan, 11 January 1965) is an English electronic musician, DJ, producer, and remixer best known for his work as the primary member of Meat Beat Manifesto. He lives in San Francisco. Career Prior to founding ...

and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

. During the 1970s the music continued to evolve to embrace techniques and genres such as guitar feedback and funk. In addition to concerts, the group issued a series of albums and contributed to many scores by group member Ennio Morricone, including '' A Quiet Place in the Country'' (1968) and '' Cold Eyes of Fear'' (1971). The group slowly disbanded after Evangelisti's death in 1980.

Main Members

* Franco Evangelisti (piano, percussion) * Ennio Morricone (trumpet, flute) *

Egisto Macchi Egisto Macchi (4 August 1928 – 8 August 1992) was an Italian composer. Biography Born in Grosseto, Macchi moved to Rome to study composition, piano, violin and singing with Roman Vlad (1946–51) and Hermann Scherchen (1949–54), among othe ...

(perc, celesta, strings)

Other Members at times

Mario Bertoncini Mario Bertoncini (27 September 1932, in Rome – 19 January 2019, in Siena) was an Italian composer, pianist, and music educator. In 1962 he was awarded the Nicola d'Atri Prize by the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia for his ''Sei Pezzi per ...

(perc, piano) * Walter Branchi (double-bass) * Richard Aaker Trythall (piano) * John Heineman (trombone, cello) * Roland Kayn (Hammond organ, vibraphone, marimba) *

Frederic Rzewski Frederic Anthony Rzewski ( ; April 13, 1938 – June 26, 2021) was an American composer and pianist, considered to be one of the most important American composer-pianists of his time. His major compositions, which often incorporate social an ...

(piano) * Giancarlo Schiaffini (trombone, assorted wind instruments) * Giovanni Piazza (horn, flute, violin) * Antonello Neri (piano, et al) * Jesus Villa Rojo (clarinet, et al) Xoán M. Carreira, «Jesús Villa Rojo», Madrid: SGAE, 87 páginas. * Bruno Battisti D'Amario (allsorts)

Discography

* 1966 "Nuova Consonanza", LP RCA * 1967 "The Private Sea of Dreams" (as ''Il Gruppo''), LP RCA Victor * 1968 "Improvisationen" LP Deutsche Grammophon * 1970 "The Feed-back" (as ''The Group''), LP RCA * 1973 "Improvvisazioni a Formazioni Variate" (also known as "Gruppo d'Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza"), LP General Music * 1975 "Nuova Consonanza", LP Cinevox Records. Reissue 2007 CD Bella Casa * 1976 "Musica su Schemi", LP Cramps Records. Reissue 2002: LP Get Back, CD Ampersand * 1992 "1967-1975", CD Edition RZ * 2006 "Azioni", CD Die Schachtel * 2010 "Niente", CD Cometa Edizioni Musicali. Reissue * 2012 LP The Omni Recording Corporation/The Roundtable * 2011 "Eroina", CD Cometa Edizioni Musicali

References

Experimental musical groups Italian electronic music groups Musical groups established in 1964 {{Italy-band-stub