How John Adams Writes for Orchestra (The Chairman Dances & Influence of Minimalism)
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- Опубліковано 20 чер 2019
- The early minimalists choice of instruments and ways of composing influenced a whole generation of composers, myself included. In this video I look at how the style they developed went on to influence later orchestral compositions, in particular looking at the orchestral technique in John Adam's piece 'The Chairman Dances' .
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My previous video on John Adam's Harmony:
• John Adams - Modes, Ja...
and on John Adam's piece Harmonielehre for LSO
• David Bruce on John Ad...
CLIPS
The Chairman Dances
• The Chairman Dances by...
Fractalia by Owen Clayton Condon, performed by Third Coast Percussion
• Fractalia by Owen Clay...
Interesting video on Vibraphone techniques
• Vibraphone Techniques
A Portrait of Philip Glass in 12 parts
• Video
The Viking of 6th Avenue Trailor
• The Viking of 6th Aven...
A brief history of Moondog
• A Brief History of Moo...
Anyone else fell in love with John Adams thanks to the Civ 4 soundtrack? I had the destiny to have it play over my ears constantly when i was 13-14 years old. First, i understood nothing, then, it was like a revelation! I think this experience has been the best harmonic training i could have ever asked for!
Me too! Civ4's soundtrack introduced me to John Adams's work and Nixon in China
Right here... those early Medieval chants stick with me hard too but... "The Chairman Dances" is an incredible piece of music and hits me harder and harder as I grow older. It all feels so urgent and like it could fly off of the fucking rails at any moment
@@EvanSchatz for sure! I even did a small reversion of the finale of that track on sibelius just to try to understand it,and uploaded it to my youtube channel
damn, I was not alone
As soon as I see a David Bruce video, the day turns a little bit brighter.
where's the moondog analysis? cmon man, quit holding out
Regarding other effects, or tricks, of 20th-century sound, I love the "held voice" of a melody in which all voices but one drop out of a long-held chord, then return at some pint, usually the bar line. There are numerous examples, but I can only think of that final chord in Barber's Adagio for Strings. It has the wonderful power of stretching out the emotional power by attenuating the melody's endurance, then resolving by bringing back the earlier instruments and thus returning the emotional alliance; to fini.
P.S. I never knew the word "hocketing!"
I’ve enjoyed Adams’ music ever since I heard it on one of the Civilisation soundtracks. It’s nice to see behind the scenes.
The two-note staccato off=the-string rhythmic interjections is a hallmark of Stravinsky's "Symphony in Three Movements" first movement. When I hear the technique in "The Chairman Dances" I am struck by how clearly he is referencing this earlier masterpiece; they are playing very similar metrical games.
In his opera Nixon in China there is a clear reference to The Rite of Spring.
Is there a video of you posing in that costume? I'd pay good money. Perhaps a Patreon perk?
good morrow sir
a most excellent idea!
John Adams is my favorite composer! This was so fascinating.
Moondog occupies a huge lot in my mind. Thank you for bringing attention to his influence on music!
Tritty I use to see Moondog standing on 23rd st and 8th ave
I'm enjoying Adams' VERY clear borrowing of Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements in the strings ;) Interesting points about Moondog, I had no idea about his influence on Glass/Reich! Your use of Fractalia made me happy, that piece is such a hoot to play!
fp = Play loud and then don't.
sfzp = Play loud. ...And then don't.
IKR
doooloolooolooolo
*play loud, and then don't, but more so. Somehow
Stealing this, I have to make a meme.
Another great example of this percussion effect is in Jupiter with the fp's. The orchestra play a forte staccato note while the trumpets play a crescendo starting on piano. It makes it sound like the trumpets are playing fp. It's really awesome.
I really dig this kind of video where you dig into the choices made by composers like this. John Adams is my favourite composer.
6:50 Mahler does this too in his 6th symphony. A fortissimo contrabass pizz at the same time a sustained piano tuba note starts, sounds really cool
5:54 not only digital producers I might add, these terms are common at least since the early analog moog synthesizers.
Great video btw! I love minimalism!
The person who gave this video a thumbs down is, I'm saddened to say, gonna die in 4/4 time.
bruh
Really enjoy your vids! Keep up the good work!
Great job as always David!!!!
I love your videos David. Thank you so much!
I love your talks on orchestration topics, I find them incredibly interesting and almost always take away a couple of new ideas to try out.
I've been waiting for this video from you for so long now I wait for the Branca video
I loved this video- you explain complex ideas so simply, I learned a lot, feels like my palette is expanding!
what a wonderful lesson, thank you David !
Great video as always!
Absolutely LOVE The Chairman Dances. Thanks David for this great video!
Man, I really love these videos! They really open up new aspects of the world of music for the average listener like myself.
Amazing! Thank you so much!
LOVE THIS! Nice to see you highlight Third Coast Percussion!
Great video, a nice little kick of inspiration.
Great stuff. Glad I found Mr Bruce.
I knew I recognized this song from somewhere. This was a song that was played in CIV IV. One of my favorite games of my childhood. Love seeing a song that I had no idea of where it came from or who wrote it getting analyzed and seeing where the song actually comes from. I just really enjoy the sort of laid back high energy feel this song gives.
I'm trying to figure out the MOONDOG tuning on guitar. Is it like DADGAD?
Thank you for this. Great topic and great explanation.
small World - that's me on 1st trombone in your clip of the Chairman Dances with BBC Phil at 5.10 :-) I don't remember that being filmed but it was a while ago ....
Thanks: such a sophisticated overview.
Thank you. Went to the symphony for one piece and this one was being played as well (Chairman Dances). It kind of captured me. I really enjoyed it! This has helped me enjoy it more!
Excellent as always
Your observations about Adams’ work are really interesting, but that Tchaikovsky example blew my mind!
Awesome video!!
On percussion and rhythm there's obviously Messiaen.
Having recently played this John Adams work, I enjoyed your video.
I learned a lot from this. Thank you.
Really great video.
Excellent, thank you!
I just got an orchestral plug-in for my DAW and found myself layering the pizzicato at the start of the longer string notes to get the attack I wanted. This video is wonderful in providing the historical social context for the musical technique. Now I suddenly feel part of a movement instead of a guy breaking his new toy!
wow best episode yet...mind = blown
Thank you. I enjoy your videos and learn from them. Note: Stravinsky's influence in this piece is considerable, especially the Symphony in Three Movements.
great video as always! could you maybe do a room tour? a bit fascinated by all these instruments in the background
who doesn't smile at a little bit of juilliard shade
Excellent presentation.. I have taken much away!!!
You could probably do an entire video on hocket, starting from early medieval usage to how composers like Louis Andriessen use it in extreme ways (and his Bang on a Can students/disciples by extension). That would be a lot of fun.
This was about 8 hours shorter than I was hoping, but still great
Hey David! I love your videos. I don't mean to be critical, but unless you're only using that violin bow in the background as an ornament for your room, you should really loosen the bow every time you finish playing
Slithery, snake music in 7/8 time? I immediately thought of Sensemaya (Chant to Kill a Snake) by Silvestre Revueltas (1937/38).
Ooooh I see you've changed the title of the video ! Does that mean there's in actual moondog video coming and you've switched the titles by mistake ?!
I hope it's the case, I'm so excited by minimalism (yes people like that exist) and hearing you talking about that is enriching and very inspiring (Plus I feel less alone toward that interest hehe)
Thank you so much bruce, I'd really like to have your insights on the use of vocals in minimalism, it's imitating the violin with a kind of staccato and it can be really percussive at the same time, but the strangest thing is that it humanises a music that feels so out of this world while being really... impersonnal. It's mind boggling...
(sorry for my weird english) !
Greetings from France !
11:37 pure genius
lovely video! John Adams came to visit my college and talked to us about his music, it was fascinating. I must say his use of staccato is different from the likes of Beethoven. Adams uses it more as an effect to change the overall texture of the orchestra.
thank you ! Greetings from Uruguay
Really interesting video, and particularly interesting comment about Beethoven 7 - I had never thought of it like that! Also, hilarious that Philip Glass gave Moondog somewhere to stay.
Haven’t heard the word hocketing since my music history class in 1986-happy memories!!!
can i double like this. Great lecture!
I enjoyed your critique very much, David. Very interesting to actually see Adams' score and hear what sounds result. Thank you. Re the Tchaikovsky, some might not realize Tchaikovsky is passing the theme from 1 violin to 2 violin and back over and over, hence the weird notation.
Great video. The bit about Tchaikovsky reminded me of a video by Thomas Goss (OrchestrationOnline), maybe you two should do a collab
Yousef Shadian Oh, great channel too. It would be awesome to watch them collab.
I still can't believe this channel doesn't have like more than 200k subs.
@@Stemma3 I know right, but I'm sure the subcount will get there eventually
Always very interesting...
Harmonium is my new favorite piece from Adams
Over the past few years, I've come to appreciate and enjoy some of Adams' pieces: Harmonielehre, Shaker Loops and Chairman Dances. I still have trouble with Reich's Music for Eighteen musicians.
Could you do a video on effects and processing in modern classical? Like circumstances where delay(for example) is used or imitated with conventional instrumentation. Thanks for your amazing videos.
I love your videos. They make me want to buy sheet music and read along music. I apparently would have to start on a very basic level. Next above drewling troll enjoying random sounds.
Nice video. Thanks. Love Adams. Harmonielehre, where Adams 'kills' Schoenberg, is my fav
.
Love that texture in your piece you play a snippet of Death is a Friend of Ours. Have you ever considered writing for orchestra with the addition of a metal rhythm section? Just have to ask as a classical bassist who recently joined a metal band. The way chords and riffs work is very interesting and the musicality of it is something that classical musicians can learn so much from. The way the amps and picking/plucking techniques blend together to create a massive sound could be such a powerful addition to an orchestra. The way palm muted notes have a sharp attack and then bloom down into the bottom of the bass sound is a really beautiful phenomena. Lol and if you don't like the suggestion I'll just have to write it myself once I get back to music school! As always great video :)
additional point: just imagine whole orchestra scrubbing away on 16th notes with guitar players and bass player doubling the line with the double kick drum pedals pounding away. There is a noisy beautiful idea somewhere in there probably
It is hard to think of anything in the past 50 or 60 years that has been as influential as the minimalist sound. I admire the minimalists with some reservations. Looking at how Adams deals with problems of playing extended staccato passages (the clarinet example) shows how precise and thoughtful and innovative the minimalists are on a micro level. There is obviously a lot of nuance in a good minimalist score. The amount of repetition for the player (especially in larger scale minimalist works) not to mention for the audience makes these works very effective and high impact when you hear them the 1st time, but potentially boring upon repetition. I recall being wild about Glass's Powaquatsi sound track back in my 20's. I listened to it quite a bit and was patient with the repetition and enjoyed the sound world a lot. I don't ever go back and listen to it now. As vehicles for a varied listening experience, well there is something about the perpetual mechanistic feeling that is a little relentless and often hectoring. I think Mr. Bruce handles this quite well in his compositions. Though often possessed of the minimalist influence they still find a way to feel free. And I guess that is why I am not a big fan of this very influential musical path... I like the idea of development and I like the sound of free moving music and it seems the path doesn't go very far. It's sometimes like watching somebody take ity bitty baby steps down a 20 foot walkway and it take 5 minutes to get to the end, when with a normal stride you could be there in seconds. It is that sense of over-indulgence in the micrometers of musical change that makes the idea and yes, the execution, of large scale minimalist works feel pretentious.
I know Mr. Bruce has discussed in other videos his own attempts to answer the question of whether a composer should strive to please an audience or the academics. I'd be interested in a video that compares the main influences and trends in classical music since 1950. And where the academics stand in relation to various trends and what audiences prefer. We all know that classical and jazz popularity is on the decline and I do think the creation of an ultra sophisticated, technically demanding and rather esoteric style (12 tone music namely) have alienated audiences--they have not given us music that is always satisfying or even comprehensible....I reference Mr. Bruce's video on endings and the one on Gumboots and how seldom new classical works are performed. People are still joyful. They still find romance. They bleed and die. They have triumphs and tragedy's. Terrible things happened in the 20th century yes, it does not mean we can't smile, laugh and transcend these things at times. We are not robots and machines, moving about in little staccato increments. Or we are...but then when has art reflected our limitations over our aspirations?
That “Death is a Friend of Mine” sounds so exciting!
The thumbnail is hilarious. Time well spent.
Wonderful video! A recent subscriber I'm glad I stumbled across your channel.
Can you do a video dissecting one of John Luther Adams’ pieces? Great stuff by the way!
Thank you for another great video! Regarding the fast violin two-note stabbing figure, check out the rite of spring, rehearsal mark 154
Moondog went to college at Lyon College (then Arkansas College)! What a wonderful rediscovery.
A sound that is very distinctive is of course the ”massive string squeal” that exists everywhere in movies. Pendereckis Threnody is the example I’ll be giving, but it is everywhere.
One of the things that leaves me sometimes feeling less enthusiastic about music such as this is hearing some of the music that influenced it. In my case I'm thinking of Gamelan music. One of my fav contemporary albums is King Crimson's Discipline. And yet, if you've ever heard a full blown (or even servicable) Gamelan orchestra blasting it out, the retrofit pieces such as Discipline, or some music by Adams (and by extension Glass and Reich) lose a lot of their OMG factor (yr piccolo example seemed to lift the interlaced parts idea I've seen used; maybe coincidence?). I still love or at least admire a lot of it, but it loses impact, same as knowing how the magic trick is done. That said, great video as always.
Brilliant
Andrew Whang did a challenge a while back where the attacks of sounds of different instruments where removed and him and his friends had to try and guess what instrument was.
Ahhh Looks of, certainly one of my favs
Спасибо!)
what are your thoughts on John Luther Adams latest piece, Become Desert?
The sound of the vehicle horn and klaxon have featured prominently in arguably some famous/influential 20th Century works: Varèse's "Amériques", Gershwin's "An American in Paris", Ligeti's "Le Grand Macabre", Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd" and Reich's "Different Trains". I'm sure there are others.
3:46 now i know why vsauce doesn't upload videos anymore. michael is now a cellist.
Xenakis' sound has had lots of influence as well as Lachenmann´s.
Reminds me of film music, like John Williams scores.
Excellent as always. On the very interesting study of percussion and wind/string articulation, how familiar are you with the wind band/ensemble works of the 20th/21st C? /such composers as Vaclav Nelybel, Karl Husa, David Maslanka? I would like to know your opinions of these genre.
Being unqualified and untrained in music, I never thought I could conduct an orchestra, until I went to a concert performance of Adams's Nixon in China.
The composer conducted the work himself and all he did all the way through was right hand up down and across, including the Chairman Dances.
sooo good food for a amateur like me ... thank you ... yes it was tasty
The Tchaikovsky example at 12:20 blew my mind. How could he figure how it would sound together when the two completely diverging lines were combined ?
I would say Steve Reich's use of tape sounds (such as in It's Gonna Rain and, bit of a stretch, Piano Phase) is another key sound of the 20th C.
One of the most influential sounds of course is d i s t o r t e d e l e c t r i c g u i t a r s
Check out the piece Vampyr! by Tristan Murail...
@@JazzGuitarScrapbook Yes!
A moondog video would be awesome!
I, personally, channel all of my composition skills into the everlasting grind to create a piece of music as good as the Cruisi'n USA theme.
wow. What do you think about replication of the voice in instruments and the way music is composed and performed?
His main goal is to create various timbers, colors and textures in the orchestration.. In doing so, he cleverly avoided the boredom of minimalistic approach by the earlier composers such as Reich and Glass.
After watching this video, I went back to the first score I ever made on musescore. I realised I had inadvertently used composite melody that he mentions
I've never clicked on a video so fast oml I fucking love Moondog