recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Andrew Norman (1979-Present)

## **Introduction**

Norman was born in 1979. He is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He studied composition at the University of Southern California and Yale University. He has written everything from operas to chamber pieces and has been nominated for a Grammy Award.

## **Work Analysis**

I chose to analyze The Companion Guide to Rome by Norman. The piece is written for viola, violin, and cello. He uses quintuplets a lot and subdivisions of beats to create really cool rhythmic ideas. There are eight movements to this piece and every one fo them is related. Another thing he does is uses different meters in consecutive measures. This crea

   tes almost a hiccup effect sometimes in the piece.

## **Comparisons**

This piece reminds me of something Charles Ives would create. I feel that the simplicity of the instruments and the atonality of the piece really reflect Charles Ives and his works well.

## **Observations**

I enjoyed this piece because of the contrasting meter changes and the use of subdivisions. I also found the instrumentation to be quite simplistic and effective. To be honest, this piece probably could have and should have won more awards if any.

## **Works Cited**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew\_Norman\_(composer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40ZPDb\_tMDU
Basic Longterms Wiki

## Welcome to the Basic Longterms Wiki

Basic Longterms is a newly founded longterm group the strives to be the best. We make quality host sessions and make sure everyone is feeling happy.

## Longterms

We currently only have Big Brother longterms, but we are looking to expand soon.

## Seasons

***Big Brother ~ Season One ~ BadGirlsClub7***

***Big Brother ~ Season Two***
Darnell Thompson

## Overview

Darnell Thompson is a supporting character in The Vegas Sisters. He is the boyfriend of T'Nya.

## Timeline

### Early Life

Nothing is known about Darnell's early life.

### Season 1

#### "Case Study"

Darnell is introduced in T'Nya's flashback. Darnell is sleeping with a gun in his hand, while T'Nya stands over him, watching.

## Description

### Physical Appearance

 Darnell is a young aged, brown eyed brunet man with an Afro. He has a fit shape and is considerably hairy. He is around 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weights approximately 160 pounds. He generally wears a tank top and jeans, and has an anchor tattoo on his right bicep.

### Relationships

#### T'Nya Vegas

T'Nya is Darnell's girlfriend. T'Nya describes Darnell as "alright".

## Trivia

* Darnell Thompson is inspired by 2Bit from "Mother Up"
La Monte Young

## **Introduction**

La Monte Young is an American avant-garde composer who was the first recognized minimalist composer. He was born in Bern, Idaho on October 14th, 1935. His music has been used as perfect examples of post-war experimental music and contemporary music. Young is more famously known for pioneering work in Western drone music also known as dream music. La Monte also experimented with twelve-tone technique with his early works.

## **Work Analysis**

The work I will be analyzing is La Monte Young's *The Well-Tuned Piano*. This solo piano work is long, improvisatory and was debut in 1974. A normal performance lasts close to six hours and has been described as "one of the great achievements of 20th-century music" by The Guardian. The most important aspect of this piece is the tuning of the piano. The years of 1973 to 1981 experienced drastic changes in the tuning systems. This piece is usually played on a standard acoustic piano including 8 complete octaves. Young described the tuning of the piano being derived from partials of the overtone series with a low E-flat fundamental. The Well-Tuned piano though improvised is based on perfect fifths and harmonic sevenths. The performance is broken up into 7 major sections between a half hour and hour long sections. The beginning of the piece is slow and subtle before opening up into a heavy and abrupt kaleidoscope of sounds. The piano, though just a regular classic piano takes on the sound of almost windchimes in a way blowing in the wind. Young gives his highest regards to naturally made sounds like wind blowing items inspiring him to create certain pieces. Young was inspired by Dennis Johnson a former schoolmate at UCLA to write *The Well-Tuned Piano.* Right before Young began his work Johnson wrote an improvisatory solo piano piece titled *November* which helped Young to create his piano piece with similar aspects.

## **Comparisons**

Young's strongest influence came in his early life. He says the very first sound he recalls hearing was the sound of the wind blowing under his family's log cabin. Man-made noises fascinated him and he explains that he was often drawn to the sound of droning. The 4 pitches of his "dream chord" are influenced by the sound of telephone poles in his hometown. La Monte has explained that Bartók, Stravinsky, and Debussy were major classical influences along with Schoenberg and Webern which would explain his use of the twelve-tone series.

## **Observations**

I learned a lot more research wise from this piece then I feel I did musically. I was not to allured when I heard the piano because it didn't sound like a piano it sounded like a windchime. I never enjoy songs that don't use the instruments classically and with their original sounds. However, I respect Young as a composer and think that the idea of this piece being almost 6 hours long is incredible.

## **Works Cited**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La\_Monte\_Young

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Well-Tuned\_Piano

https://www.jstor.org/stable/833045?seq=1#page\_scan\_tab\_contents
HABLAR LO QUE PASA DÍA A DÍA

### habla con tus padres sobre lo que te pasa el dia a dia

Tus padres te aman y querrán saber lo que está pasando en tu vida. Si bien es probable que no necesiten saber todo el drama diario que vives en tu círculo social o conocer los detalles del juego de béisbol que viste con tus amigos, les encantaría saber qué hay en tu mente, desde tus esfuerzos en tus estudios hasta cualquier gran problema que tengas con tus amigos.
Anna Clyne (1980-Present)

## Introduction

Anna Clyne was born in London, UK in 1980. She is known for her overall unusual style of composing. Her music is mostly composed in an electro-acoustic style, and that style even got her a Grammy nomination in 2015. Along with composing she is also very dedicated to music education, looking over a program in New York that is specifically dedicated to young composers.

## Work Analysis

The piece i decided to look at was her Grammy nominated piece, "Prince of Clouds". This is a piece for a string orchestra. This specific piece makes use of the wide range of what stringed instruments can do from beautiful harmonization to quick staccato notes and all the sliding inbetween. The whole piece definitely has a who sky bound feeling to it, with the violins soaring high above the rest of the orchestra. It is very intense it it's energy and it is very apparent in the performers faces that there is a huge amount of emotion and feeling behind this piece. The use of just one single section of instruments is a very interesting choice that I think pays off really well. The similarity of all the timbres allows for the sound to really build to a full wall when they are perfectly in harmony.

## Comparisons

I want to compare this specific piece to Gabriela Lena-Frank's music, not only are both of these composers very influential female composers, but also their music spells out a very specific story and point of view that cannot be achieved just by any regular person. They are both women that have perspectives that go beyond just the American idea of music and that really shows through their creativity. Also, the legacy of Clyne's music definitely is that theme of a powerful woman composing fantastic music, it just goes to show that there are plenty of women who can make music that just as, if not better, than the music that have been seen from many men over the years.

## Observations

I really enjoyed this piece, It even got me to feel something through the music, which is really go sign that a piece is amazing. The pure emotion that all of the performers are evoking allows for the viewer to not only feel that raw emotion, but also really focus in on what is going on in the music. I learned that emotion and the performance aspect of the music is just as important as the music itself, a good performance can take a beautifully composed piece over the edge to even get it a grammy nomination.
Bad

Bad was a Houseguest in Big Brother 1.

Bad was a Houseguest in Big Brother 1.

## Biography

Bad played an extraordinary game. She befriended everyone she could and made sure they knew she was her friend. She would win competitions when she needed to and used it to her advantage. In the end, she won 8-1, being the first winner of Big Brother.
Realiza actividades que fortalezcan los vínculos afectivos con tus padres

demás de pasar un tiempo agradable con tus padres alrededor de la casa, también puedes mostrarles que te preocupas por ellos al realizar una variedad de actividades que los unan más. Estas pueden incluir ir de pesca, ir de excursión, salir a caminar, ir al cine o tener un buen almuerzo con tu mamá. No creas que todas las actividades tienes que hacerlas con tu padre. Asegúrate de pasar la misma cantidad de tiempo con tu madre, ya sea que cocinen, paseen a tu perro o pasen una tarde en la biblioteca.
Mostrar cariño

•La mejor manera de demostrarle a nuestro padres cuanto los apreciamos es pasar ratos de compañías juntos a ellos , tener una agradable platica a la hora de comer o reunirse viendo televisión en la sala conversando anécdotas de su día, abrazarlos cuando se puede y decirle lo mucho que los quieres y estimas.
COMO SER BUEN HIJO MJZS Wiki

## Actividad reciente

EN ESTE WIKI SE LES ENSEÑARÁ A COMO SER UN BUEN HIJO CON MJZS

## Colabora con este wiki

Para escribir un artículo, ingresa el título en la caja de abajo.

<createbox>
width=24
break=no
buttonlabel=Crear un nuevo artículo
</createbox>

**¿No estás seguro por dónde comenzar?**

* Revisa **Ayuda:Comenzando este wiki** para conocer algunos consejos
* Si eres un novato respecto a los wikis, revisa **Ayuda:Empezando**

Las imágenes y videos son una gran manera de atraer lectores a tu wiki. Encuentra videos sobre tu tema en la videoteca de Fandom.

Archivo:Placeholder
Henryk Gorecki (1933 - 2010)

## **Introduction**

Henryk Gorecki was a Polish composer who was born on December 6th, 1933, in Czernica, near Rybnik. Gorecki would attend the Music academy of Katowice where he would be influenced by the music of Anton Webern, Olivier messiaen, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. With the genre influences of  Folk songs, medieval music, and even his Roman Catholic faith, Gorecki would become a composer that would characterized by his tragic themes.

https://www.discogs.com/artist/216138-Henryk-Górecki - Photo

## **Work Analysis**

Many attribute Gorecki’s rise in popularity to his 1992 recorded work, Symphony No. 3: Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (1976). This work by Gorecki is a clear rising point in his career because the record that it was on sold over half a million copies worldwide; the average for an album in this genre at the time was selling 15 thousand. Gorecki’s Symphony recording would be played by Soprano singer Dawn Upshaw, the London Sinfonietta, and would be conducted by David Zinman. The work is split into 3 movements that work within the slow moving tempos with dark low dynamics to match that Gorecki’s was known for. Gorecki’s work was also based of the modal canon structure that sees the orchestra come in at different sections but play the same melody; this idea starts from the lower instruments and builds up from there. It must be brought that Gorecki wrote with such tragedy in mind because of the world around him. While leaving in Poland, Gorecki was caught in the conflict of living under the communist regime of Russia and before that feeling the destruction of Nazi Germany. In his symphony, Gorecki uses polish laminations of a 15h century monastic song, a folk song, and a prayer that was scratched into a cell wall by a young girl imprisoned by the Gestapo; this new understanding to the text adds even more to the sorrow of this piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcfy3UmnyDY

## **Observations** / **Comparisons**

Gorecki deserves all the praise from this work. The work’s overall slow methodical pace brings the meaning behind it to the forefront as the value of each section can be felt. This music also has an innate sadness while listening to it much like Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings; its build up is very similar as well.  There is also a hint of Minimalism in Gorecki’s work as orchestra repeats several lines throughout the music.

## **Works Cited**

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henryk-Gorecki

https://culture.pl/en/artist/henryk-mikolaj-gorecki
David Rakowski

## **Introduction**

David Rakowski is an American composer born Hune13th, 1958 in St. Albans, Vermont. Rakowski received musical training at the New England Conservatory and Princeton University and studied under composers like Robert Ceely, John Heiss, Milton Babbitt, Peter Westergaard, Paul Lansky, and Luciano Berio. Currently, he is the Walter W. Naumburg Professor of Composition at Brandeis University.

## **Work Analysis**

I will be analyzing David Rakowski's symphony Ten of a Kind. Ten of a Kind is a four-movement symphony including a concerto solo from ten different sized clarinets completed in 2000. This piece was commissioned by Colonel Foley the 26th U.S. Marine Band director. Ten of a Kind was premiered on May 20th, 2001 in Washington D.C. Rakowski says that the first movement, Labyrinth unfolds the symphony's thematic material just in time to be completely shown in movement two, "Song Stylings" which is the slow movement of the piece. The thematic materials are heard through the various sections of movement two. "Yoikes and Away," the third movement is described as a scherzo with many climaxes. The final movement "Martian Counterpoint," includes various syncopated patterns and the introduction of a new theme. Through my analysis, I found many different thematic materials and thought that the music sounded similar to that of Messian because in my opinion some of the melodies sounded like bird calls. The symphony also has some cartoonish characteristics with prominent percussion rhythms.

## **Comparisons**

During an interview with Composition Today Rakowski has said that his largest influence has been Schoenberg. He listens critically to Schoenberg's voice leading, counterpoint, and harmony and tries not to dwell on the fact that Schoenberg used the 12 tone technique. Non-musically, Rakowski gathers inspiration from poets.

## **Observations**

There isn't a lot of information on Rakowski but from what I found and researched I respect his discipline. In the same interview I mentioned above, Rakowski said that he doesn't allow himself to drink until he has written a fixed amount of music. He says that he takes a lot of time and puts a lot of care into thinking over the shape of all his pieces and movements. I love his dedication to detail and envy his dedication to his art, it motivates me to do more and pay attention more.

## **Works Cited**

http://www.compositiontoday.com/interviews/david\_rakowski.asp

http://www.marineband.marines.mil/Portals/175/Docs/Programs/020214.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David\_Rakowski

http://ziodavino.blogspot.com/p/bios-of-various-wordiness.html
Iannis Xenakis

## **Introduction**

Iannis Xenakis was a Greek-French composer born in Romania on May 29th, 1922. Early on in his life, he moved to Greece only to flee in 1947 and eventually became a naturalized citizen of France. Xenakis was also an architect and engineer who helped pioneer the use of electronic and computer music. He helped to push forward the idea of using mathematical models in music like set and game theory and stochastic processes. Xenakis used his architecture knowledge to help designing spaces for specific music compositions and performances.

## **Work Analysis**

The work I will be analyzing is *Akrata* for 8 winds and 8 brass. Akrata was composed over the span of 2 years and was completed in 1965. The word Akrata is a Greek term meaning "pure" and the music matches the meaning. The work starts out very eerie and plain with repeating notes throughout the brass section. There is no apparent melody or theme throughout the whole piece and at some points, the piece has measures of silence that represent music as well instead of separating sections or representing rests. Towards the end of the piece (6:15) we have an incredibly loud and abrupt moment of most of the instruments coming together to form a loud formation of different pitches, notes, and speeds. At the end instead of getting repeated staccato notes, we hear more long sustained notes, especially from the woodwinds.

## **Comparisons**

Generally speaking, Iannis Xenakis can be compared to a number of composers who also used set theory as a method of composing. Xenakis was very familiar with works of Debussy, Bartók, and Stravinsky and took lessons with Nadia Boulanger who also taught Andrew Imbrie and was good friends with Stravinsky. I would also compare Xenakis to composer John Cage because they both looked at silence during a piece as music and both incorporated moments of silence in their pieces.

## **Observations**

Looking at composers like John Cage and Xenakis, I am starting to get an idea of why the "what is art?" and "Is this music?" questions still exist. Personally, I do not think I enjoyed these pieces in a subjective way but I am able to understand the usage of set theory and now, the idea of a nonexisting melody throughout a piece.

## **Works Cited**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_compositions\_by\_Iannis\_Xenakis

https://www.iannis-xenakis.org/Articles/Schaub.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iannis\_Xenakis

https://www.iannis-xenakis.org/Articles/Harley.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia\_Boulanger
Terry Riley (1934-Present)

## **Introduction** [1]

Riley is an American composer and performing musician born in California in 1935. Riley was heavily influenced by both jazz and Indian classical music.

## **Work Analysis** [2]

I chose to analyze In The Summer by Terry Riley. The song was released in 1975 off of Riley’s album Lifespan. This piece revolves around two lines. One being played at the forefront and another being played in the background almost as an arpeggiated synth. There is also something that sounds like vocals that comes in. The lines are very repetitive and can be hypnotic.

## **Comparisons**

This sounds like something I would hear in a movie theme. It reminded me of the movie Interstellar due to its

   ​​​​​​​repetitiveness and space feel. The while there is a non-ambient quality to it, I found that it also has the ability to be very experimental and ambient as well.

## **Observations**

I truly enjoyed this piece. It’s simplicity really stands out to me and I enjoy simplicity. I found his use of the arpeggios and voices to be well done. I almost felt like I was taking a journey through space as I listened to this piece that I did not necessarily want it to end.

## **Works Cited**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry\_Riley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFYjbwrN9DU
Jason Eckhardt (1971 - Present)

## **Introduction**

Jason Eckardt (born 17 May 1971 in Princeton, New Jersey) is an American composer. He began his musical life playing guitar in heavy metal and jazz bands and abruptly moved to composing after discovering the music of Anton Webern.Eckardt attended Berklee College of Music, first as a guitar performance major before switching to composition, eventually earning a BA (1992). He continued his studies at Columbia University, principally with Jonathan Kramer, and earned MA (1994) and DMA (1998) degrees. He attended masterclasses with Milton Babbitt, James Dillon, Brian Ferneyhough, Jonathan Harvey, and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

http://www.ensemble21.com - Photo

## **Work Analysis**

Atonal and microtonal harmony, intricate rhythms, highly polyphonic textures and large-scale transformational processes are prevalent in Eckardt’s compositions. Allan Kozinn of The New York Times wrote, “[Eckardt’s] music celebrates harmonic prickliness, rhythmic complexity and a density of ideas.”Though Eckardt has been associated with the New Complexity movement, he is also influenced by American composers Milton Babbitt and Elliott Carter.Major works include After Serra (2000) for chamber ensemble, Tongues (2001) for soprano and chamber ensemble, Reul na Coille (2002) for percussion and orchestra, Trespass (2005) for piano and chamber orchestra and the Undersong cycle (2002–2008), a series of four chamber works (A way [tracing], 16, Aperture, The Distance (This)) that, when played together without pause, form a concert-length super composition.Some of Eckardt's compositions are inspired by extramusical subjects, such as extraordinary rendition (Rendition), the sculptures of Richard Serra (After Serra),W.S. Merwin's poem "Echoes" (Echoes' White Veil) and George W. Bush's 2003 State of the Union Address (16).

## **Comparisons**

All of these works thus are incredibly virtuosic in their demands on the performers, and it is a testament to the abilities of the wonderful musicians involved that the pieces are projected so naturally. Eckardt's music is intensely passionate in its gestures and ideas, and this is indeed vividly conveyed.

## **Observations**

From a look at one of his printed scores, one might immediately place Eckardt into the so-called 'new complexity' movement (generally thought of as typified by composers such as Michael Finnissy and Brian Ferneyhough). There certainly is a connection in Eckardt's work to the 'new complexity' of Finnissy in particular. There is also a strong connection to the American modernist tradition represented by Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter, and others. However, Eckardt's musical voice is unequivocally his own. His work would not be confused with that of anybody else.

## **Works Cited**

http://www.mvdaily.com/articles/2005/08/eckardt1.htm

https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/The-Complexity-of-Jason-Eckardt/

http://www.ensemble21.com/eckardt/home.html
Helmut Lachenmann (1935-Present)

## Introduction

Helmut Lachenmann is a german composer who was born in Stuttgart in 1935. His music utilizes unique playing techniques that dive into the concept of utilizing new and unknown textures. He studied with Luigi Nono at Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst Stuttgart. After his school he worked all over not only teaching, but creating revolutionary works in the process.

## Work Analysis

The piece i wanted to go into was Guero. Guero is a piece for piano but not in the traditional way you think of a piano piece. The Guero is another musical instrument that is a wooden scraper. This specific piece is using the piano to make it sound like this small wooden instrument. It is a very interesting listen. The notation for the piece is an odd combo of what we see as percussion notation but with the pitched aspect of regular music notation where the specific notes are placed higher or lower depending on where they are played. The notation is showing how to play the specific instrument. The piano keys are not used at all in this piece, all of the sound is coming from the strings or other parts of the piano being hit, plucked, and pounded on. There is little to no discernible form in this piece, the only thing that stays the same throughout is the repetition of some of the arcs in the composition.

## Comparisons

I want to compare this specific piece to The Rite of Spring. When Stravinsky premiered The Rite of Spring, it was a kind of thinking about music that had never truly been fleshed out. This happens yet again here with Lachenmann. Lachenmann is using instruments in a way no one would ever have thought to use them. Not only is he doing that, but he is also notating the noises created by this seemingly new instrumental texture. It also relates to John Cage's music due the nature of utilizing noises in order to create a composition. The legacy of this piece is the idea of thinking outside the box when it comes to using an instrument, this idea might have just led to using the voice as percussion like many beatboxers do today.

## Observations

I think that I enjoyed this piece. It was revolutionary in its own way but did that revolutionizing of sound in a quick manner and was able to fully flesh out the idea of using a piano as a Guero in 5 minutes in total. I think this piece gave me a certain appreciation for the amount of innovation that occurs in the 20th century. Thinking outside the box is what has led to a lot of things we know and love in music today and if it wasn't for simplistic studies of how music and instruments work we would still be thinking of music in the simple terms of the times before the 20th century.

## Works Cited

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut\_Lachenmann

https://www.allmusic.com/composition/guero-for-piano-mc0002431564
Easley Blackwood (1933 - Present)

## Introduction

Easley Blackwood Jr. was born in 1933 in Indianapolis, Indiana. In his career in music he studied with

Messiaen, Hindemith, and Boulanger. He had studied piano and after graduating with his masters from Yale, he became a teacher at University of Chicago. He still is teaching today. His music starts of having a very specific conservative atonal style but soon after the music he created looked further into the realm of microtonality. He even created some equal tempered scales utilizing those microtones.

## Work Analysis

For Blackwood, I figured that his microtonal endeavors would be the most interesting to look at, specifically "Twelve Microtonal Etudes for Electronic Music Media". This is a collection of microtonal etudes that explore the ins and outs of what microtonal music can accomplish. Blackwood received a grant to look into these concepts and this is what he was able to create with that knowledge. Blackwood took this as basically making a sequel to The Well Tempered Clavier but with microtonality. A lot of these pieces are actually utilizing tonal means of harmonic progression to base the microtonal piece off of. These pieces do not sound like they are atonal whatsoever, they just sound like a tonal piece without definitive progressions that become slightly flat or sharp every once in a while. Below is a blurry picture of Blackwood's 24 note equally tempered scale.

## Comparisons

I want to compare this directly to Bach's Well Tempered Clavier. It is taking this notion of studying temperament, but looking at it through a new modern lens that includes a broader look as to what tonality can be. It is fairly obvious that Bach was a large inspiration for Blackwood in this piece due to him specifically referring to The Well Tempered Clavier in reference to this piece. It seems to be looking at music at a completely different perspective as all the different serialists of this era. Blackwood was taking this unexplored medium and fleshing it out into the realm of tonality while other composers were taking the temperament that had already been established and taking it and using it outside the confines of traditional tonality. The legacy of Blackwood's music is definitely the idea of microtonality that is consistently being utilized indices of the past and even today.

## Observations

This piece was very enjoyable to me. It sounded very familiar, but also knowing that the ideas used in this piece were foriegn was easier to swallow that completely jumping away from tonality altogether. It is showing there are even more ways to think outside the box of traditional music that can still be aurally pleasing to the ears of the average listener. Atonal music can sometimes come off a bit abrasive and hard to digest, but I feel as if this piece would be a logical move for those looking to expand their view of notation before diving straight into music with no tonal presence whatsoever.

## Works Cited

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easley\_Blackwood\_Jr.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Easley-Blackwood

https://wikivividly.com/wiki/Twelve\_Microtonal\_Etudes\_for\_Electronic\_Music\_Media
Comunícate con tus padres tan a menudo como puedas

ya sea porque estés en la universidad o vivas en otro estado por un puesto de trabajo nuevo, es importante mantenerte en contacto con tus padres. Comunícate con ellos por lo menos una vez o un par de días a la semana, envíales correos electrónicos cuando pienses en ellos y asegúrate de visitarlos en las vacaciones, los fines de semana largos o tan a menudo como puedas. Ellos apreciarán el tiempo que les brindarás y se sentirán amados y cuidados por el esfuerzo que haces para verlos.
Henry Brant (1913-2008)

## **Introduction**

   Brant was a Canadian-born American composer. He was extremely experimental in his works instrumentally. He was born in 1913 in Montreal.

## **Work Analysis**

I chose to analyze Angels and Devils by Brant. This piece is written for flutes and the recording I listened to had thirteen flautists. There is one primarily soloist who is supported by the rest of the ensemble. The fact that this is written for only flutes means that it can create something that a full orchestra necessarily can’t. It can create an almost barrage of sound hitting you in a certain higher frequency with the power of thirteen flutes.

## **Comparisons**

I cannot say that I have heard anything like this before. However, I do know that Brant was heavily influenced by the works of Charles Ives due to the ideas firing back and forth melodically and harmonically off of each other in a very atonal sense.

## **Observations**

This was not my favorite piece, but it was sure interesting to listen to. I never thought that flutes could be that powerful as an instrument. I enjoyed the soloist player in the recording that I found. Other than that, I was pretty indifferent towards this piece from a subjective point of view.

## **Works Cited**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry\_Brant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajKjPSAa3WE
Krzysztof Penderecki (1933 - Present)

## **Introduction**

[1]Krzysztof Penderecki is a Polish composer and conductor born in November of 1933. He has won five Grammy awards and has been acclaimed for his work in various other context as well. In fact, *The Guardian*has recognized him as Poland's greatest living composer. He is well known for his symphonies and orchestral works, operas, instrumental concertos, and his choral works which are primarily based on religious text.

## **Work Analysis**

Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (1960) - Written for a 52-instrument string orchestra, the piece begins with an intense screech with no definite pitch center. Rather, tone clusters are developed through the layering of each instrumental section with no distinct rhythmic pattern. The string players make use of a variety of techniques with their instruments to achieve certian effects. These include glissando, playing behind the bridge and on the tailpiece, forceful vibratos and, at times, even slapping the instrument. The focus of the piece may certainly be said to be in its dynamics, timbre, and articulation.

## **Comparisons**

This piece in particular was unlike anything I have heard from any other composer throughout the semester. I would say thats its density seemed immediately comparable only to some of the works of Charles Ives and Elliott Carter. Although the instrumentation is limited to only string instruments, the sounds and colors which Penderecki explored definitely reach a certain creative height similar to those of Ives and Carter.

## **Observations**

Despite how innovative and simply impressive Penderecki's music seemed to me, I could not help but associate the Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima with a bloody horror scene or something equally terrifying. I suppose this is simply due to the fact that music with similar textures has been included in horror movies in the past. This association was in fact confirmed after learning that Penderecki has had his music adapted for several iconic horror films of the past such as The Exorcist (1973) and The Shining (1980).

## **Works Cited**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krzysztof\_Penderecki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threnody\_to\_the\_Victims\_of\_Hiroshima
Arvo Pärt (1935-Present)

## Introduction

Arvo Pärt is an Estonian composer. He was born in 1935 in Paide, Estonia. As a Christian, he developed his style relating things to the slow transformation of sounds that occur over time in things like bells and human voices. Since his music has a religious undertone, Pärt was able to gain a very large following later in his career. He served in the military, after that time he began his study of music in Tallinn, Estonia. He then went on to work for Estonian radio while also composing in his free time.

## Work Analysis

For Pärt's music, I wanted to focus on his piece "Spiegel im Spiegel". This translates to "Mirror in the Mirror", and was composed in 1978. Pärt's music in his early years was very tense, but this piece was later in his career and is very pleasing to the ear. It starts with just a simple arpeggiation of a second inversion F major chord but as the piece progressed there are other parts that come in above and below the arpeggiation on the piano and a soaring violin like that holds out pitches. The arpeggiating piano line also varies over time, sometime going higher and some times lowering. Toward the end of the piece the piano soars to a very high arpeggiation, lowering itself each measure after until it returns to the original chord.

## Comparisons

This is a more tonal piece that Star Child by George Crumb, but it utilizes the same concept of a certain sound developing over a long period of time with little to no dynamic change. Both Pärt and Crumb's pieces have that minimalist style of ambience where there are only a few sounds that fill the soundscape that entrance the listener. On the other had, Crumb's Star Child is much less tonal that Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel. Pärt's piece has no accidentals in the piece. The most interesting part of the piece is that the violin and main piano are in F Major, but the other piano notes soaring above and below the main piano melody are in C Major. Being that this notation wise in being played in 2 different keys is interesting despite it not sounding dissonant whatsoever. even when the B flat does come into play in the main melody.

## Observations

This was a very refreshing listen. You start to forget that not every single piece of the 20th century was atonal, there are still traditionally tonal pieces that fit into the unique aesthetics of each of these composers. There are many Pärt piece's that are very experimental, but this specific one resonated with not only his style, but also rebelling against the traditional means of what we think 20th century music is supposed to be.

## Works Cited

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arvo-Part
Katherine Balch (1991-Present)

## **Introduction**

Balch was born in 1991. She is currently the Composer-in-Residence with the California Symphony through 2020. Her music has been commissioned and performed around the world.

## **Work Analysis**

I chose to analyze New Geometry by Balch. This piece is written for an orchestra. It was written in 2015 so it is one of the newest pieces from her. The piece sounds extremely mathematic and uses harmonies that are dissonant. The harmonies create this emotion in the piece as well as the percussion doing its own thing.

## **Comparisons**​​​​​​​

It sounds Stravinsky-esque in the sense that it is almost completely atonal and it doesn't really follow any patterns or meter from what I can hear. It is also almost like Ives in the sense that it is almost written freely and without any imperative direction.

## **Observations**

I was not a big fan of this piece. I just sounded like an atonal mess to me. I felt it had no direction and I didn't feel like this piece is a work that should be praised.

## **Works Cited**

http://www.katherinebalch.com/bio/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBfkuZsjez4
John Luther Adams (1953 - Present)

## **Introduction**

John Luther Adams (born January 23, 1953) is an American composer whose music is inspired by nature, especially the landscapes of Alaska, where he lived from 1978 to 2014 (Garland 2007). His orchestral work Become Ocean was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music (Huizenga 2014). Adams began playing music as a teenager as a drummer in rock bands. He attended the California Institute of the Arts as an undergraduate in the early 1970s, studying with James Tenney and Leonard Stein, and graduated in 1973 (Kosman 2001). After graduating, Adams began work in environmental protection, and through this work Adam's first travelled to Alaska in 1975. Adams moved to Alaska in 1978 and lived there until 2014. He now lives between New York and the Sonoran desert in Mexico (Service 2015). Adams's composition work spans many genres and media. He has composed for television, film, children's theater, voice, acoustic instruments, orchestra, and electronics. From 1998 to 2002, Adams served as Associate Professor of Composition at Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

http://johnlutheradams.net/biography/

- Photo

## **Work Analysis**

The Wind in High Places has a duration of roughly 16 minutes and is composed in three movements:

1. Above Sunset Pass
2. Maclaren Summit
3. Looking Toward Hope

The composition was developed from the 2007 piece Three High Places for solo violin, which Adams composed in memory of his friend and collaborator Gordon Wright. The piece uses only natural harmonics and open strings. Adams makes extensive use of natural harmonics here, especially during the work's middle movement, Maclaren Summit, where he gradually builds up a complex four-part canon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emXDrJRFXds

## **Comparisons**

Become Ocean is an American orchestral composition by John Luther Adams that sounds similar to his piece Three high Places. The Seattle Symphony Orchestra commissioned the work and premiered it at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, on 20 and 22 June 2013. The work won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.The work, in a single movement, was inspired by the oceans of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. The composer took his title from a phrase of John Cage in honour of Lou Harrison, and further explained his title with this note placed in his score:"Life on this earth first emerged from the sea. As the polar ice melts and sea level rises, we humans find ourselves facing the prospect that once again we may quite literally become ocean.”

## **Observations**

The effect is breathtaking, aided in no small measure by the Quartet's precise performance. By contrast, the first and last movements present a more reserved panoramic 'sweep', suggesting the symbolism of a wide-open spaces of the Alaskan landscape which was enjoyable to listen to.

## **Works Cited**

adams-wind-in-high-places-canticles-of-the-sky

ct-music-now-review-20141001-column.html

john-luther-adams-ode-to-sundogs

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/arts/music/best-classical-recordings-2015.html
Tarik O' Regan (1978-Present)

## Introduction

Tarik O' Regan is a British composer from London. He was born in 1978 and studied at the Whitgift School. He originally studied percussion, but then took an interest specifically in composition. He worked as a music reviewer after undergrad and worked there for 4 years. After his compositional education, he continued his work on music but also commenting on music for BBC. His music is regarded as "exquisite and delicate" (*The Washington Post*); "beautifully-imagined, holding the audience rapt" (*The Financial Times*); "sublime: a piece that you didn't want to end" (*The Times*, London); and generating "previously unheard sound worlds with astonishing effect" (*The Philadelphia Inquirer*). He currently also is faculty and other positions at Rutgers University, New York University, and Oxford University.

## Work Analysis

The piece of O' Regan's that I am going to be looking at is "Mass Observation". I wanted to look at this specific piece because of the fact is uses a very interesting combination of a choir and a percussion ensemble. The ambient nature of this piece is very relaxing and pleasing to the ears, the drums give a tribal feel to the piece and the harmonizing chorus above are the only true sources of pitch, aside from a few pitched percussion instruments, but the chords being used are atonal in nature. It is a piece composed of 13 different movements, each having a very distinct composition of sound. The parts of the piece that specifically focus on the chorus are absolutely beautiful, and when the percussion becomes the point of focus, it is hard not to be mesmerized by the surrounding sounds. Instead of the large voluminous ending that you would expect from this combination, you get just a beautiful chord held over a few remaining small percussion noises, even in this specific performance of the piece, the audience is confused as to when the piece actually end because the ending is so small dynamically.

## Comparisons

I would directly compare this piece to the music of Stockhausen. The ambient feel of this piece along with the feeling of being surrounded by sound makes it seem just like a acoustic form of Oktophonie. The sound is so mesmerizing and calming that it becomes less about what is going on in the music, but more about how you are visualizing the music. It also has elements of Missy Mazzoli's Overture where there is a lot of drama instilled into the very fabric of the sound because of the instrumentation. The legacy of this piece is taking the past and applying it to strengthen the music of the future.

## Observations

I really enjoyed this piece. While it is long, it is a interesting combination of instruments that I honestly have not seen together before. The combination kept me on my toes as I did not know what would be happening next. I learn from this piece to think outside of the box when it comes to composition because it is easy to fit in to what everyone else does, but to really stand out takes a conscious effort of going against the norm.

## Works Cited

http://www.tarikoregan.com

http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/long-bio/tarik-o%27regan
Thea Musgrave (1928- )

## **Introduction**

Musgrave is a Scottish composer who has written operas and classical-style music. She has written

    more than a dozen operas and other musical theatre works.==**Work Analysis**==

I chose to analyze Song of the Enchanter by Musgrave. In the program notes, it says that it is based off of an episode from the Kalevala, a Finnish epic where a god, uses an instrument to enchant people, hence the title of the song. The piece is mesmerizing and has very classical characteristics as well as adding a more modern style to it.

## **Comparisons**

This piece almost reminds me of a movie theme that I would hear John Williams or Hans Zimmer compose. It also reminds me of a Star Wars theme where you’d hear this playing as Leia would st

   ep out of a ship and the people would be there. Everyone would just stop what they are doing and listen to what she would have to say.

## **Observations**

This piece was interesting to listen to because I can relate it to my own life because I always have found film scores fascinating. Although this is not a film score, it sounds like it could be the theme for a character (which it is). It was almost mesmerizing in a sense with the way it captured my attention.

## **Works Cited**

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thea\_Musgrave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee3mf9E-n\_Q
Lansing McLoskey (1964 - Present)

## **Introduction**

Lansing McLoskey, born in 1964, found himself interested into music not by traditional composers like Bach and Beethoven but rather The Beatles, Bauhaus and Black Flag. Instead of practicing counterpoint, McLoskey was a guitarist and writing songs for punk rock bands in the 1980’s. Surprisingly, it is through this process that made him love classical music. McLoskey would go on to become a very well decorated composer, winning more than two dozen national and international awards, including the 2016 American Prize, the 2016 Robert Avalon International Composition Award, and the prestigious Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

http://www.lansingmcloskey.com

- Photo

## **Work Analysis**

Prex Penitentialis: The Prayer of Petrarch was a 3 movement work Commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts and is based on the writings of the Renaissance philosopher Petrarch, and deals with the battles and struggles between body and soul. The piece overall uses a soprano vocalist and a chamber orchestra. On McLoskey’s website, he describes the piece saying that “It is both prayer and dialogue, with the mind interrupting the soul’s pious efforts and causing it to lament its weakness and inconsistency”. The piece very much starts in its prayer roots, emulating a gregorian chant of the text. It even stays in the style of the text as well by using pseudo-Landini cadences and having an emphasis on open fifths. The work shows to have an internal struggle as it tugs between calm and loud sections. This struggles appears to never come to a resolution in the piece; as McLoskey puts it “there is a sense of reconciliation - or perhaps symbiosis, if you will.  The conflict remains, but a vision of hope and faith provides temporal relief”.

http://www.lansingmcloskey.com/prex.html

## **Comparisons**

With McLoskey emulating old Gregorian chants in this piece, there's nothing you can compare this to besides those old hymns.

## **Observations**

McLoskey’s take on gregorian chants is a great listen. The soprano singer, Andrea Fullington, really gave the text a nice texture that is normally never heard. The idea behind this work is also has value to it as the struggle between body and soul is a debate that will always come no matter the century.

## **Works Cited**

http://www.lansingmcloskey.com/prex.html

http://www.lansingmcloskey.com