Thursday, February 28, 2008

Embedded Music!











I have been moonlighting as a theater "sound designer" for the past year or so. I'm not sure what I think of the title "sound designer" since really I think a more accurate term is "mini-composer." I end up writing about 20-30 original pieces per show, each one between 30 seconds and 1.5 minutes. A sound designer can be mistaken for cuing doorbells, rain, and crickets. Ok, that's not true anyhow. The sound design to Stalker was one of the most brilliantly ticklish auditory experiences I've had in a long time.

Anyway, although it's not "serious" music, I try to bring compositional aesthetic to the table. Composing for theater can be a bit fun, particularly the bit of collaborating with non-musicians.* There are without a doubt countless obstacles and compromises in theatrical music, but I've found that I enjoy working within certain confines from time to time.

My first solo project was for The Wilma Theater's production of Brecht's Life of Galileo. The sets were bare wood and steel, evoking Galileo's story through the lens of an oppressed Eastern European 1940s society. Choosing the most obvious solution then, I decided to compose music using primarily percussive sounds on wood and steel. The result was interesting - a combination of Reich-like rhythmic effects with a certain rustic production quality. As an added bonus, the music was very well received. The production was reviewed by Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal but unfortunately there was no comment on music. Maybe next time an Alex Ross type should join the audience and offer a bit of perspective on the potential of a modern compositional element to today's live theater.

My second production was a US premier of Lisa Griffiths' Age of Arousal, also produced by the Wilma Theater. The play was inspired by George Gissing's progressive victorian novel The Odd Women. I read the set as a psychedelic Victorian parlor with its over-sized floral wallpaper and hints of eastern exoticism lining the lingerie. There was a sense of nature's urge for creation bubbling just below the surface as the modern women considered their intellectual, spiritual, and sexual roles in post-imperialist British society. Typewriters, commerce, and lesbianism abound, but the music was mostly inspired by a sensual undercurrent not least of which was highlighted visually by a giant floral arrangement that stretched over one-third of the stage.

Best of all was that Blanka, the director of both shows, decided to choreograph the scene transitions with intricate ballets of characters and sets moving. The transitions were always exciting and gave the music a chance to fulfill a worthwhile lifecycle without any fade-outs(!).

I've discovered a way to embed music files to this blog - so this is a test to see if it works. Track 1 is from The Life of Galileo, serving as a segue from the industrialist, socialist sensibilities of Brecht's Galileo to the aristocratic ball scene where the Grand Inquisitor is first introduced.

The second track from Age of Arousal is the introduction of victorian psychedelic beauty as walls open up to reveal a young bachelor courting a beautiful debutante on a stroll through some London park. I bought a 1972 Fender Rhodes and an out of tune piano at the used furniture store to create the atmosphere. The tape delay was also a favorite post production tool of mine.

The third track introduces Act II of Age of Arousal. The scene is entitled Impressionism - the characters are walking through the first exhibit of this new art form in a London gallery.

The fourth is the final scene of Age of Arousal, titled Garden, when the cycle of death and re-birth come to full realization in a beautifully lit (slightly psychedelic) garden. The internet provided the birds - I guess I modeled the short track on Messiaen and some freejazz solos. Enjoy!

*except when everything outside of classic tonality is considered "creepy" or "sinister"

Monday, February 25, 2008

Folk



As our folk culture expands throughout the interwebs, google video maintains its massing snowball presence. Unofficial music videos made by music fans show up from time to time with something real to contribute. I've posted a fan-made video to Leaf House, one of my favorite songs by Animal Collective - the psych folk pop mod prog downtown indie boy band of the year (s).

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Symbols of Enough


Now summer has passed,
As if it had never been.
It is warm in the sun.
But this isn't enough.

All that might have been,
Like a five-cornered leaf
Fell right into my hands,
But this isn't enough.

Neither evil nor good
Had vanished in vain,
It all burnt with white light,
But this isn't enough.

Life took me under its wing,
Preserved and protected,
Indeed I have been lucky.
But this isn't enough.

Not a leaf had been scorched,
Not a branch broken off. . .
The day wiped clean as clear glass,
But this isn't enough.

= Arseny Tarkovsky (as used by Andrei Tarkovsky in Stalker)

Monday, February 18, 2008

Projected Anger Makes Me Mad




I played the guess the composer game while listening to the last few minutes of an orchestral piece on the radio driving home from the grocery store.

A symphonic work
Sounds like the last movement of 4 movement form
Well, definitely a romantic - german sounds like
But i don't know it... kinda familiar.
No, don't know it - could this be a neo-romantic?
It's way too indulgent - how dare a neo-romantic demand this much empathy from me?
Oh man I'm pissed - this is ridiculous
If this is a Juilliard teacher...
What a sentimental asshole.
The academic scene is such bs.
Ok, that part was good - surprisingly -
What form is this anyway? It's like the transcendentalists.
What does this guy know about transcendentalism?
I am pissed off!
Ok that part was kind of interesting.
But it's mostly bad!
This is total shit and I'm tired of it. Who is it?

Final movement of Mahler 10.

for the record: Mahler 10 is mostly awesome.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Children of Parsifal



Really - how awesome are the handheld camera single shot-sequences in this Parsifal clip!? The lighting is pretty badass too. Alfonso CuarĂ³n eat your heart out.

And is that The Seventh Seal mysteriously slipped in at the 7:07 mark?

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Is it serious?



The video includes a lecture by Alan Watts on a number of wonderful subjects - but the subject that inspired me to post this video is not one he addresses (at least not directly). I was jogging when I first listened to this lecture as a podcast. The first minute went by and I had to stop running to catch my breath - I was laughing too much. Why was I laughing? Alan Watts wasn't making jokes, or ironic references, or anything "funny." But nevertheless, something was humorous.

Watts asks a simple question. Is existence serious? He also can't help but laugh after asking this question - as you hear in the video. What is so funny about this??

Henri Bergson wrote an interesting treatise called Laughter. Anyway, enjoy Mr. Watts - and I highly recommend downloading the Watts podcasts on itunes - They're Free!

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Shamanistic Hunting



David Attenborough narrates a phenomenal documentation of traditional Kalahari hunting.

Considered one of the most ancient hunting techniques, this "persistence hunt" originated before weapons were invented. The hunter uses tracking skills and trance induced intuition to simply run down the animal until exhaustion finally forces the animal to surrender after 8 hours in the African heat. Once the animal has collapsed, the hunter begins a killing ritual which includes staying close and comforting the animal until it dies. This ritual ensures that the spirit returns safely to the desert so the cycle of reincarnation is properly maintained.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Slogans of Our Time



An old woman throws her crutches to the ground - "Change made me walk again!"

A billionaire swims in his pool of golden coins - "Change made me rich!"

A small child clutches her kitten to her chest - "Change brought Buttons down from the tree!"

Our contemporary political slogans have yet to achieve the true universality of phrases like "Uh huh" but at least campaigns of the future give us something to look forward to...

Friday, February 01, 2008

Harmony of Overwhelming and Collective Murder



Herzog riffs on nature in the jungle during a scene in the fine, fine Les Blank documentary: Burden of Dreams.

I thought it might be a fair balance to the articulation of life on Earth as sounded in the post below...