Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co.

Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co. was an American electronic group that released a 1973 self-titled album on Earthquack, followed in 1976 with Like a Duck to Water. Further material, mostly Seventies archival tracks, later appeared on Cuneiform.

Members: David Borden (Moog, Minimoog, electric piano), Steve Drews (Moog, Minimoog, electric piano), Linda Fisher (Moog, Minimoog, 1969-74), Judy Borsher (Moog, 1975-?), Blaise Bryski (Moog, ?-present), David Yearsley (Moog, ?-present)

Background

Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co. formed in spring 1969 in Ithaca, New York, when composer-keyboardist David Borden teamed with Cornell composition student Steve Drews for a live new-music ensemble.

Borden studied at Eastman School of Music and Harvard University, then continued on a Fulbright fellowship at Hochschule für Musik in West Berlin with Boris Blacher. Borden served as composer-in-residence for Ithaca City School District from 1966 to 1968, then joined Cornell University as composer-pianist for the dance program.

Robert Moog introduced Borden to the modular Moog synthesizer at R.A. Moog Co. in Trumansburg in 1967, where Borden spent nights learning the instrument. Drews pursued a DMA in music composition at Cornell, where Borden introduced him to the modular Moog; Drews left the degree program to concentrate on electronic composition. Borden based the group name on grandmother Lena Belle Mallard and chose “Portable Masterpiece Co.” to avoid an academic ensemble title.

Early Performances

Mother Mallard gave the first concert in May 1969 at Barnes Hall on the Cornell campus. The group performed Wolfman by Robert Ashley, Pitch Out by Allen Bryant, music by Dan Lentz, and works by Morton Feldman and John Cage. Mother Mallard played the Memorial Room in Willard Straight Hall that October and expanded the repertoire with music by Terry Riley, Jon Hassell, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich.

Borden and Drews shifted the ensemble toward original synthesizer pieces in 1970 as Moog engineers developed the Minimoog. They performed “Easter” at Willard Straight Theater in April with prepared tape and two synthesizers, one the Minimoog prototype. Mother Mallard brought the prototype to Trinity Church in Manhattan in June for a lunchtime concert billed as “The Moog Synthesizer.”

Drews began composing pieces for live Moog performance that summer, which gave the duo enough original material for a full program. Borden and Drews invited 21-year-old keyboardist Linda Fisher from Ithaca rock group Creative Act to expand the ensemble. Fisher joined several concerts in 1970 with an RMI Electra Piano, the only polyphonic keyboard in the group. She became a permanent member the following year and joined Borden and Drews as a composer.

Robert Moog referred performance and demonstration requests to Mother Mallard and financed several instruments through a four-year payment plan. Mother Mallard used three modular Moogs, two MiniMoogs, and the RMI electric piano as the core concert setup. The trio established a rehearsal and recording base in a farmhouse at Enfield and played the WBAI Free Music Store in New York in January 1972 with five Moogs and the RMI electric piano.

Mother Mallard built three or four complete concert programs by fall 1972 and sent demo tapes to record labels. Borden shifted to self-release in 1973, while Margaret Wood of Artservices calculated approximately $1,500 for mastering, pressing, and cover printing. Borden supplied half of the budget. Photographer Mickey Arrandt told Borden that Cornell student Judy Borsher wanted to invest in the label. Borsher supplied the remaining capital, which allowed Borden to establish Earthquack Records for the completed Mother Mallard album masters.

Discography:

Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co. (1973)
Like a Duck to Water (1976)
The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, Parts 1-4+8 (Complete) (1991 • David Borden)
Music by David Borden (archival, 2003)
Like a Naked Man to Water: The Mother Mallard Basement Tapes (2004)