Metropolis.
Published: 2006
Language: eng
Number of pages: 104
ISBN-13: 9780494219850
Description: In each scene of the work a different set of relations between the performers, the notated score, and the electronics is explored. As the film progresses and the various characters, forces, and masses which it depicts come into increasingly open conflict, more latitude for improvisation is granted to the performers while at the same time the live electronics take on a more independent sonic profile. In the first third of the piece (corresponding to Lang's Prelude) the time structure of the electronics often follows the live instruments. By contrast, in the final Furioso , the performers are often called upon to listen to the electronics for their temporal cues. In between, the main structural idea of the music for the Intermezzo is that of effecting a transition between these two general relationships.The crowning jewel of the German silent cinema, Fritz Lang's silent film  Metropolis depicts a city starkly divided into those who labour for scant reward, and those who own, control and manipulate the conditions of life itself. This new score for the film deploys a virtuosic ensemble of five musicians---violin, soprano, trombone, percussion and live electronics---who react to and interact with each other and with the film, continuing the open, improvisatory traditions of silent film accompaniment.The version of the Metropolis shown at its Berlin premiere is believed irretrievably lost---one more casualty of the rise of Nazism. There have been numerous attempts at recreating the film, often spurred by the discovery of new footage from, or new information about, the original film. The music is structured in such a way that it can be performed as a live accompaniment to any of the many extant (and, no doubt, future) versions of the film. More than a score that is read "from beginning to end", the piece consists of a collection of musical objects that can be easily adapted to the particular circumstances of a performance. The temporal aspect of the work is often determined by visual and aural cues or instructions rather than chronological or metric determinations.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-01, Section: A, page: 0023.

Thesis (Mus.Doc.)--University of Toronto, 2006.

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