The first canon of J.S. Bach’s Musikalisches Opfer is known as a “crab” canon: two voices play the famous theme and its elaboration simultaneously, one moving forward from beginning to end, the other backwards, running in reverse. They meet in the middle, exchange direction, and return to their original starting points, at which they repeat the process ad infinitum. The work is thus a Möbius Strip, possessing a moment of initiation, but no clear beginning or ending; it is a music that nullifies the arrow of time, presenting the past, present, and future simultaneously at each moment.

Canons in Entropy, commissioned by Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest and the SONICBernheim Series, is a site-specific 4-channel audio installation that uses the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester’s recording of Bach’s crab canon as its source material, both sonically and conceptually. Just as Bach constructs the work by layering the music upon itself, I proliferate this layering in an accretive process: after I present the original recording as Bach had composed it, I splice the recording in half at the midpoint and layer the two halves atop each other. I then splice it in thirds and do the same, then in fourths, fifths, and so forth, a total of 231 times. The music undergoes entropy, as its conventionally “musical” qualities — melodies, rhythms, harmonies, instrumental attacks, etc. — are eroded to a liquefied, homogenized stasis. Over the course of 11 minutes, what began as an awe-inspiring example of human sonic construction begins to bear more resemblance sound as it’s found “in the wild”: the roar of wind, the hum of insects, the enveloping din of a flock of birds. Just as Bach inverts the music in his canon’s center for it to return, symmetrically, to its starting point, so do I begin to reconstitute Canons in Entropy from its molten endpoint back to the original recording so that the cycle can perpetuate endlessly.

At Bernheim Forest, the speakers that played back the work were placed between four Norwegian fir trees along a wooden path between the parking lot and the Visitors Center. As the sounds rotated across the four speakers in various circular patterns, listeners could experience the piece from multiple vantage points and proximities. Though the stereo mix on this page presents a version of the piece from a fixed distance, listeners’ constant movements and shifts in perspective with regard to the sound sources — from close to far, centered to angled — are integral to the work’s sonic experience and its integration in Bernheim Forest’s environment. 

Special thanks to Aaron Rosenblum, Sara Soltau, Andrea Jane, and Claude Stephens for their organizational, technical, financial, and moral support, and for their innumerable contributions to sustaining adventurous art in the Louisville, KY region. 

Canons in Entropy

James Bickers, who served as a host on 89.3 WFPL and 91.9 WFPK for nearly 20 years, died on Thursday. He was 45 years old.

Bickers, an affable and engaging host with a seemingly endless capacity for knowledge that spanned the pop culture spectrum, hosted a variety of Louisville Public Media programs over the years, including an eight-year stint as the morning drive host on 91.9 WFPK and two years as afternoon jazz host.

He also hosted and produced “Down and Nerdy,” a pop culture podcast that demonstrated Bickers’ range — and, of course, his humor.

On 89.3 WFPL, Bickers hosted and produced a long-running literary talk show called On Second Thought. Most recently, he was the local voice of NPR’s Morning Edition. He left Louisville Public Media earlier this year.

“James was our renaissance man: music lover, writer, philosopher, humorist and resident pop culture nerd,”  said Stacy Owen, WFPK program director and longtime colleague. “We loved him for these many talents and admired his kind nature and obvious love for his family. Our hearts are breaking.”

As morning host on WFPK, Bickers developed a loyal following with his signature voice and style. He would open his show with the phrase “Good morning, fellow babies!,” then launch into a favorite song from his eclectic tastes, which ran from prog rock to classic jazz.

He was fun to listen to and work with. He was a kind soul. And he was an unrepentant Rush fan.

WFPK Music Director Kyle Meredith summed up the way Bickers could make anyone smile.

“James had a brilliant sense of humor and wit,” Meredith said. “He and I were both fans of broken jokes and would trade them as often as possible. I’m grateful that, Wednesday at the hospital, I was able to throw one back at him, my favorite of the ones he had taught me: Do you know what’s green and has three wheels? Grass. I lied about the wheels.”

Along with hosting Morning Edition on 89.3 WFPL, Bickers conducted long-form interviews with authors, thinkers, artists, musicians and newsmakers. He won a 2016 Kentucky Associated Press Broadcasters award for his meditation on the music of Louisville singer-songwriter Joan Shelley.

His 2015 interview with food writer Mark Bittman was typical of Bickers’ approach: It opens with the interviewer’s intimate, disarming admission that he’s a big fan.

“If I could embarrass you for a second, I have here my personal family copy of ‘How to Cook Everything,’” Bickers says. “It’s from 1998. It is browned and pockmarked and dog-eared and beginning to fall apart, and it’s the most useful cookbook ever.”

In typical fashion, Bickers follows with a probing question about Bittman’s philosophy of food that sends the interview into unforeseen places.

Bickers is survived by his wife, Nancy, and their three children.

A Tribute to James Bickers

Louisville Orchestra principal cellist Nicholas Finch is premiering three concertos, specifically written for him, on April 18th at the Ogle Center at IUS, with his colleagues from NouLou Chamber Players and conducted by Jason Seber. Finch and composers, Ljova, Dorian Wallace, and Alyssa Weinberg talked with Daniel Gilliam about the inspiration for their new pieces, and Louisville's welcoming spirit for new music.

One Cellist, Three Composers

June 19th is just a normal day for most Americans. You might be at work, enjoying the summer break, or you might be a part of something called Juneteenth. But what is Juneteenth? Why is it important and why do so many people, especially African Americans, celebrate it? We can use music, stories, and voices of the 1860s to find out.

Written, Produced, and Hosted by Jecorey Arthur

Additional Voice-Over by Kyeland Jackson

Interview with Ms. Laura Smalley (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Interview with Mr. Wallace Quarterman (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Interview with Mr. Fountain Hughes (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Juneteenth: Music, Stories, and Voices of the 1860s

Bach - Christ lag in Todesbanden, Sinfonia

90.5 WUOL Classical Louisville, is Louisville's 24-hour classical music station. We're listener-supported, public radio and one of three stations of Louisville Public Media.

One Cellist, Three Composers

WUOL

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