My term project would be an analysis of Johan de Meij's composition for wind orchestra, EXTREME MAKE-OVER (Metamorphoses on a theme by Tchaikovsky).
What attracted me to this fabulous composition was the very clever use of Western orchestration style (or the de Meij's style) fusing it with Tchaikovsky themes (Romantic composer) as well as the Gamelan (Indonesia). As opposed to the sub-title of "Metamorphoses on a theme", there were actually more than one Tchaikovsky themes found in there. Some of the themes were obvious in the foreground; while some were not so obvious in the background; and some were "metamorphised" to the extent that it may be difficult to notice the originial theme. In addition, I was amazed that this extremely technically-advanced music was used for the European Championship as a set piece!
Here are some of my resources for the term project:
1. Programme Notes:
www.4barsrest.com/articles/2005/art472d.asp
2. Johan de Meij's Website:
www.johandemeij.com
3. Original Wind Band Score:
EXTREME MAKE-OVER (Metamorphoses on a theme by Tchaikovsky)
Publisher: Amstel Music
4. Audio CD (16'47"):
"Planet Earth", Performed and Recorded by Banda Sinfonica La Artistica Bunol, conducted by Henrie Adams.
5. Composers on Composing Vol. 2 (Hard-copy book):
http://focus-on-music.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=122
6. The Five-tone Gamelan Music of Bali (by Colin McPhee)
JSTOR: http://www.jstor.org/stable/740124
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Feet Unbound - "Pilgrim"
Feet Unbound: Women of the Long March was a film directed by Khee-Jin Ng and the music was composed by Dr. Kelly Tang.
The Synopsis of the Film:
SynopsisOne of the largest troop movements in history was the withdrawal, beginning in 1934, of the Chinese Red Army from the advancing Nationalists, which would become known as the Long March. The losses during this 10,000-kilometre journey were tremendous. Due to lack of food and weaponry, only a small number of the Communist troops managed to survive. In the march, a few thousand women took part, in many cases just teenagers. Feet Unbound is their story. In his directing debut, Khee-Jin Ng chooses a double perspective. Six very old women who undertook the Long March tell not only about the hunger and continuous enemy attacks, but also about the fact that the ones who had been captured (and often seriously maltreated) were later rejected by the Communist party. We also meet a young journalist from Beijing who, tired of her dull job, decides to follow the route of the Long March - this time with more comfortable means of transport. Impressed by the gorgeous scenery, she observes that this beautiful nature does not play a role in any of the survivors' accounts. She gives the souls of the dead a bowl of rice and gains more insight into herself and the gravity of life.
Adapted from: http://www.idfa.nl/en/info/film.aspx?id=067854ed-71d1-4588-b75c-1943d2f1cbc1
ABOUT THE MUSIC:
Movement II. "Pilgrim" (in key of G-minor)
I was very much captivated by the use of open-harmonics of the violins which occurred throughout the movement. It gives a screechy and eerie feel, as if I was brought to the "spiritual" world. I would consider the open-harmonics notes as more of an "effect" role rather than any form of important harmonic role, although some harmonic consideration was obvious in some parts, such as the ending bar where by the note "D" was played as part of the G-minor chord. I thought this was important as the movement reaches the end whereby some form of settlement seemed necessary (i.e., going back to home key). In the other parts, the notes were pretty much alienated from the harmony. For example, E-natural do not belong to the D minor chord (Chord v) in bar 57, and G do not belong to the F major chord (chord VII) in bar 68. There were tinges of sadness and dread throughout the movement, and in particular I realised the consistent use of 4-3 suspensions (e.g., Bars 54; 57; 60; 61; 65; 68; etc.), noting also that preparation note need not always be from the same voice. The cello part seem to be "on its own" as compared to the rest of the instrumentation. Wide leaps were noticed in almost all the bars except for bars 59 and 62 whereby passing notes were used. In the other instrumental parts, the lines were smoother in that preceeding notes were usually step-wise or much smaller leaps.
After asking the composer with regards to this movement, he told me that the use of the open-harmonics was indeed to "create the other-worldly atmosphere". He has also interestingly pointed out that the first verse which was in G-minor, flows downward (descending) in register [melody]. After studying the score, the apparent bar would be bar 60 (Bb-A-G-F-E.nat.). It's also noticed that the E-natural actually leads logically to D the following bar. The second verse as oppose to the first has an ascending sequence [melody]. The heightening of the contour can be noticed (although not a "scalic" ascend) at bars 71-78 (C#-E.nat-G-A-Bb). This heightening of contour brought the music up to the climax of the movement. Very interestingly, the composer also commented that the cello part depicts the "search for high and low" which is relevant to the story line. It is thus apparent of the intentional use of the very wide-leaps noticed.
The Synopsis of the Film:
SynopsisOne of the largest troop movements in history was the withdrawal, beginning in 1934, of the Chinese Red Army from the advancing Nationalists, which would become known as the Long March. The losses during this 10,000-kilometre journey were tremendous. Due to lack of food and weaponry, only a small number of the Communist troops managed to survive. In the march, a few thousand women took part, in many cases just teenagers. Feet Unbound is their story. In his directing debut, Khee-Jin Ng chooses a double perspective. Six very old women who undertook the Long March tell not only about the hunger and continuous enemy attacks, but also about the fact that the ones who had been captured (and often seriously maltreated) were later rejected by the Communist party. We also meet a young journalist from Beijing who, tired of her dull job, decides to follow the route of the Long March - this time with more comfortable means of transport. Impressed by the gorgeous scenery, she observes that this beautiful nature does not play a role in any of the survivors' accounts. She gives the souls of the dead a bowl of rice and gains more insight into herself and the gravity of life.
Adapted from: http://www.idfa.nl/en/info/film.aspx?id=067854ed-71d1-4588-b75c-1943d2f1cbc1
ABOUT THE MUSIC:
Movement II. "Pilgrim" (in key of G-minor)
I was very much captivated by the use of open-harmonics of the violins which occurred throughout the movement. It gives a screechy and eerie feel, as if I was brought to the "spiritual" world. I would consider the open-harmonics notes as more of an "effect" role rather than any form of important harmonic role, although some harmonic consideration was obvious in some parts, such as the ending bar where by the note "D" was played as part of the G-minor chord. I thought this was important as the movement reaches the end whereby some form of settlement seemed necessary (i.e., going back to home key). In the other parts, the notes were pretty much alienated from the harmony. For example, E-natural do not belong to the D minor chord (Chord v) in bar 57, and G do not belong to the F major chord (chord VII) in bar 68. There were tinges of sadness and dread throughout the movement, and in particular I realised the consistent use of 4-3 suspensions (e.g., Bars 54; 57; 60; 61; 65; 68; etc.), noting also that preparation note need not always be from the same voice. The cello part seem to be "on its own" as compared to the rest of the instrumentation. Wide leaps were noticed in almost all the bars except for bars 59 and 62 whereby passing notes were used. In the other instrumental parts, the lines were smoother in that preceeding notes were usually step-wise or much smaller leaps.
After asking the composer with regards to this movement, he told me that the use of the open-harmonics was indeed to "create the other-worldly atmosphere". He has also interestingly pointed out that the first verse which was in G-minor, flows downward (descending) in register [melody]. After studying the score, the apparent bar would be bar 60 (Bb-A-G-F-E.nat.). It's also noticed that the E-natural actually leads logically to D the following bar. The second verse as oppose to the first has an ascending sequence [melody]. The heightening of the contour can be noticed (although not a "scalic" ascend) at bars 71-78 (C#-E.nat-G-A-Bb). This heightening of contour brought the music up to the climax of the movement. Very interestingly, the composer also commented that the cello part depicts the "search for high and low" which is relevant to the story line. It is thus apparent of the intentional use of the very wide-leaps noticed.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Term Project
Hi Dr. Chong and class,
I have been thinking about what to do and I thought I would want to analyse a 20th/21st Century work of a band composer - I've not done any in-depth analysis before and I think I would find it more meaningful for me to work on something that I'm interested in.
I'd want to analyse works by Satoshi Yagisawa, a composer I mentioned to you before. I've also given you a copy of one of his band score to take a look because I'm not too sure if its feasible for this term project. And after the "Indonesian Music" lesson last Friday, something else came to my mind which I thought may be feasible also - a piece called "Extreme Makeover" by Johan de Meij. This piece infuses Gamelan music with themes by Tchaikovsky, not too sure if you've heard of it, and again, I'm also not very sure if it's relevant for this term project. He also used bottle-blowing to imitate the Gamelan theme in one of the sections. This is a recording of it,
http://www.imeem.com/people/SgRQ6bz/music/fkJtqLdo/johan-de-meij-extreme-makeover/
Hi Dr. Chong and class,
I have been thinking about what to do and I thought I would want to analyse a 20th/21st Century work of a band composer - I've not done any in-depth analysis before and I think I would find it more meaningful for me to work on something that I'm interested in.
I'd want to analyse works by Satoshi Yagisawa, a composer I mentioned to you before. I've also given you a copy of one of his band score to take a look because I'm not too sure if its feasible for this term project. And after the "Indonesian Music" lesson last Friday, something else came to my mind which I thought may be feasible also - a piece called "Extreme Makeover" by Johan de Meij. This piece infuses Gamelan music with themes by Tchaikovsky, not too sure if you've heard of it, and again, I'm also not very sure if it's relevant for this term project. He also used bottle-blowing to imitate the Gamelan theme in one of the sections. This is a recording of it,
http://www.imeem.com/people/SgRQ6bz/music/fkJtqLdo/johan-de-meij-extreme-makeover/
Monday, September 7, 2009
Reflection Journal - "Internet Symphony"
Internet Symphony No. 1 "EROICA" by Tan Dun
When I first heard that Tan Dun has composed the Internet Symphony (commissioned by Google and Youtube), I was very excited about what I was about to hear. The "Internet Symphony" itself seems to be something like an oxymoron, if I've used the correct word for this. Usually when we think of "Symphony", we think of the big masters (e.g., Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, etc) of the past and the word "Internet" doesn't seem to connect well with the "past" as it is something so modern.
My first few thoughts/guess even before hearing this symphony:
1. Is this going to be some kind of computer music, with computer-generated tones or effects?
2. Knowing that Tan Dun is a 20th Century Composer, would I expect something very non-tonal (*I am not generalising that all 20C music are non-tonal*)?
3. Will it be something similar to his famous "Ghost Opera"?
4. Is it going to sound very "Chinese" since he is a Chinese himself; perhaps something like "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon"?
I first heard the Internet Symphony on Youtube; and with the visual aid of the orchestra performing on youtube, listening to this piece of music has made the music sound more humane (alive) to me, comparatively to just listening to the audio version of it alone. In the introduction, a pi-pa (one of the string instruments found in the Chinese Orchestra) sounding instrument was heard, and it was actually done on the Harp. My initial response or hint I was getting from just the introduction alone was that this piece seems to be heading in the oriental (Chinese) direction. I wasn’t sure about my assumption as it may be too early to tell. An unconventional use of the brake-drum in the standard orchestra was also spotted, with each automobile brake drum responsible for a specific pitch. In particular the motif on the music seems to hover around the notes C-A-E, which was introduced by the brake-drum and pizzicato strings. The use of such an instrument (or probably just an automobile part for some) in the orchestra interest me pretty much. I have to admit though, I have experienced a brake-drum part written for a wind band, but have never heard one that was used in an orchestra.
An then, there was the beautiful lyrical trumpet solo passage which to me, was obviously very tonal, and in fact very oriental-sounding (major pentatonic-ish). The next thing that came to my mind was the question, “Is this piece trying to imitate the sounds of the Chinese Orchestra?” What prompted me to raise the question was not only the melodic element that I heard, but also the way in which the orchestral instruments (such as pizzicato strings) were played as well as the very close timbre of the Chinese Orchestra instrument that was coming out from the instruments. At times, I think it did sound like a Chinese Orchestra, especially when you hear it without any visual aid. One more thing that struck me was the use of some brassy-gliss from the French horns which very much sound like a falling effect to me – more “effect-element” rather than “melodic-element”. Probably the last 2nd or 3rd section, there seem to be also some elements of a dance as the strings were busily bowing the main theme in a more rhythmic style.
What I found out…
This work was conceived during the China-Olympics and the composer stumbled upon a few brake-drums when he bypassed the garage along the street. He played with those brake drums and was very much captivated by the beautiful sounds which he heard from them, and thus the emergence of the motif that was heard at the beginning of the symphony. He then began to experiment with the motif and realized that this was the spirit of the young and the spirit of today. From it, he heard Beethoven and the echo of the orchestra with the same kind of chord which was essential to form his second motif of the symphony – Beethoven and today’s street noise. According to Tan Dun, it is very important for the symphony culture to be related to today’s street sound. Anything could be a language to communicate to the audience/listener. He added that the Internet Symphony provided a platform for anything you want to say through the sound, voice, any instruments or any tools or objects (stones, water, etc.). All the sound is actually the language of your heart and not very much related to technique -that’s the future expression of music!
More about the structure...
The structure of the Internet Symphony is very new to Tan Dun himself. It is very interesting to him because the micro-structure of it somehow explained philosophically the phrase, “small is big”.
The symphony consists of four movements:
Movement I – Focus on street car noises and automobile brake drums with the motif on the notes C-A-E.
Movement II – The trumpet melody motif of the Olympic echoes
Movement III – Rhythmic (C major and E major together) element similar to Carmen and Swan Lake and many other music. In terms of performance, he intended the style to be like French, but tried various styles with the orchestra such as the “Russian way” or the “London way” as he termed. He then finally settled on the “London way” after experimenting out with the orchestra. He realized the vibrancies in the playing style with the “London accents”, with pop, rock and hip-hop influence in it.
Movement IV – Similar melodic idea as II but played in a rhythmic manner like III.
He also commented that, “Music is Life, and Life is Music”. The symphony provides wonderful examples of it - one can just solely practise the music but it is actually reflecting the mirror of one’s life.
Doing some random search also allowed me to discover a Chinese Orchestra transcription performance of the Internet Symphony. It was a very interesting experience to hear how the Chinese Orchestra transcription tries to “imitate” the original scoring of Tan Dun’s Symphony Orchestra version.
VERY INTERESTING! Is this Internet Symphony in general some kind of "East meets West" influence?
When I first heard that Tan Dun has composed the Internet Symphony (commissioned by Google and Youtube), I was very excited about what I was about to hear. The "Internet Symphony" itself seems to be something like an oxymoron, if I've used the correct word for this. Usually when we think of "Symphony", we think of the big masters (e.g., Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, etc) of the past and the word "Internet" doesn't seem to connect well with the "past" as it is something so modern.
My first few thoughts/guess even before hearing this symphony:
1. Is this going to be some kind of computer music, with computer-generated tones or effects?
2. Knowing that Tan Dun is a 20th Century Composer, would I expect something very non-tonal (*I am not generalising that all 20C music are non-tonal*)?
3. Will it be something similar to his famous "Ghost Opera"?
4. Is it going to sound very "Chinese" since he is a Chinese himself; perhaps something like "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon"?
I first heard the Internet Symphony on Youtube; and with the visual aid of the orchestra performing on youtube, listening to this piece of music has made the music sound more humane (alive) to me, comparatively to just listening to the audio version of it alone. In the introduction, a pi-pa (one of the string instruments found in the Chinese Orchestra) sounding instrument was heard, and it was actually done on the Harp. My initial response or hint I was getting from just the introduction alone was that this piece seems to be heading in the oriental (Chinese) direction. I wasn’t sure about my assumption as it may be too early to tell. An unconventional use of the brake-drum in the standard orchestra was also spotted, with each automobile brake drum responsible for a specific pitch. In particular the motif on the music seems to hover around the notes C-A-E, which was introduced by the brake-drum and pizzicato strings. The use of such an instrument (or probably just an automobile part for some) in the orchestra interest me pretty much. I have to admit though, I have experienced a brake-drum part written for a wind band, but have never heard one that was used in an orchestra.
An then, there was the beautiful lyrical trumpet solo passage which to me, was obviously very tonal, and in fact very oriental-sounding (major pentatonic-ish). The next thing that came to my mind was the question, “Is this piece trying to imitate the sounds of the Chinese Orchestra?” What prompted me to raise the question was not only the melodic element that I heard, but also the way in which the orchestral instruments (such as pizzicato strings) were played as well as the very close timbre of the Chinese Orchestra instrument that was coming out from the instruments. At times, I think it did sound like a Chinese Orchestra, especially when you hear it without any visual aid. One more thing that struck me was the use of some brassy-gliss from the French horns which very much sound like a falling effect to me – more “effect-element” rather than “melodic-element”. Probably the last 2nd or 3rd section, there seem to be also some elements of a dance as the strings were busily bowing the main theme in a more rhythmic style.
What I found out…
This work was conceived during the China-Olympics and the composer stumbled upon a few brake-drums when he bypassed the garage along the street. He played with those brake drums and was very much captivated by the beautiful sounds which he heard from them, and thus the emergence of the motif that was heard at the beginning of the symphony. He then began to experiment with the motif and realized that this was the spirit of the young and the spirit of today. From it, he heard Beethoven and the echo of the orchestra with the same kind of chord which was essential to form his second motif of the symphony – Beethoven and today’s street noise. According to Tan Dun, it is very important for the symphony culture to be related to today’s street sound. Anything could be a language to communicate to the audience/listener. He added that the Internet Symphony provided a platform for anything you want to say through the sound, voice, any instruments or any tools or objects (stones, water, etc.). All the sound is actually the language of your heart and not very much related to technique -that’s the future expression of music!
More about the structure...
The structure of the Internet Symphony is very new to Tan Dun himself. It is very interesting to him because the micro-structure of it somehow explained philosophically the phrase, “small is big”.
The symphony consists of four movements:
Movement I – Focus on street car noises and automobile brake drums with the motif on the notes C-A-E.
Movement II – The trumpet melody motif of the Olympic echoes
Movement III – Rhythmic (C major and E major together) element similar to Carmen and Swan Lake and many other music. In terms of performance, he intended the style to be like French, but tried various styles with the orchestra such as the “Russian way” or the “London way” as he termed. He then finally settled on the “London way” after experimenting out with the orchestra. He realized the vibrancies in the playing style with the “London accents”, with pop, rock and hip-hop influence in it.
Movement IV – Similar melodic idea as II but played in a rhythmic manner like III.
He also commented that, “Music is Life, and Life is Music”. The symphony provides wonderful examples of it - one can just solely practise the music but it is actually reflecting the mirror of one’s life.
Doing some random search also allowed me to discover a Chinese Orchestra transcription performance of the Internet Symphony. It was a very interesting experience to hear how the Chinese Orchestra transcription tries to “imitate” the original scoring of Tan Dun’s Symphony Orchestra version.
VERY INTERESTING! Is this Internet Symphony in general some kind of "East meets West" influence?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)