ESSAY
THE GOSSAMER ALBATROSS AND THE THRONE OF HEAVEN,
WHY I WROTE FOR LARGE ORCHESTRA
By the late 1960's a large shift in music had occurred—streams of music had divided into many paths. With the advent of radio broadcast in the 1930's a constant musical climate spread broadly throughout the culture. Many kinds of music spread broadly crossing localized and regionalized cultural segments around the country and world that had previously remained separate before the introduction of radio.
Symphonies broadcasts on Sunday afternoon, Operas on Saturday afternoon, The Grand Old Opry on Saturday night, comedy-variety shows weeknights with musical artists, specialized half hour shows like Meredith Wilson's, Bernard Hermann's, and probably the most influential on society was recorded pop music on the radio in the daytime. All this inspired musical development in children by undirected absorption.
The harmonically advanced structures of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Victor Young, Richard Rogers, daily soaked unobtrusively into the minds and ears of tots and babies in cribs. This created a climate where a larger segment of society had a more advanced musical sensibility uninterrupted by any visual stimulus.
It is no surprise that, concurrent with the arrival of television and the increase of visual stimulus this musical sensibility, having been developed from an advanced musical and less visual period of child development, began to subside.
Pop tunes of the 30's and 40's that modulated through several key centers devolved into 3 chord Rock n' Roll and eventually to one simple chord music. The eyes took over where the ears had been, and light shows, stage smoke, elaborate costumes and "moves" became prominent.
Other forces, though more remote, moved the harmony toward one chord. Miles Davis' modal jazz period and Ravi Shankar's one chord Indian approach, and even Coltrane's pentatonic structures added to this trend So did classical composers; Philip Glass, Arvo Part, Steve Reich and even more interestingly, Arnold Shoenberg's 12 tone system, which causes what Pierre Bolez calls Serial Modality. Serial Modality is the frequent repetition of all of the pitches so often that, although they occur in different order, they sound like one chord ringing on the piano with the pedal constantly down. (Eb minor 11/Cmajor 13 in jazz harmony notation).
Electronic amplification eliminated the need for large ensembles to produce music in large venues or outdoors. Great orchestration had seemed to peak in the 1920's in symphonic music. However jazz big bands moved much further into new harmonic, voicing, and instrumental combinations, as did film music and some TV music like Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, and Star Trek.
Though somewhat similar to the young children absorbing the music of the 30's and 40's from the radio, adult people are now environmentally trained to "not listen" to music but instead to "put some music on." Actually sitting and only listening, perhaps even with the eyes closed, is a rare experience even at a concert or in the car, or at home, (Because of this, I now recommend that at performances, everyone close their eyes for the first few minutes of listening. This will enhance their experience, even if only done for the first few moments. One will hear much more, and at a concert the improved effect will last for the entire performance.)
Composers most often write for someone to 'listen' to their music, not to "have music on." Even the music played on Muzak was not originally written to 'not listen to'.
To get attention now, light shows and "moves" by instrumentalists, even in classical music, are required, TV broadcasts of symphony orchestras jump camera shots from instrument to instrument based on some director's idea of the what the most important instrument is at that exact time. Yet importantly, every note by every player is carefully placed by the composer to have an important role in the music. If it's not important enough to be on camera, it's not important enough to be played either. Often composers have written clever, funny, moving, entertaining, conflicting, and supporting things that are happening simultaneously. Listening with the eyes, especially on television, obliterates all of this.
Symphony orchestras and their audiences have clearly become museums for a almost fully complete historical cycle of music. They play and listen to music of a completed genre. Statistically, composers and large orchestras have now taken separate paths. Orchestras play a minimum of new works, usually performed only once, funded by contests, grants, and occasional individuals, merely tolerated by audiences who are waiting impatiently until their favorite piece is performed.
Composers live safely inside academic institutions and teach students the principals of music they know. There is often a bad feeling between orchestras and composers. Composers write for small ensembles and electronics because of economics and the near impossibility of getting orchestral performances, let alone to get paid anything.
So why would anyone in their right mind write for symphony orchestra?
(I personally have no idea.)
In one of the Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC, there is a sculpture "The Throne of Heaven" constructed by a poor man in a dank shed in a back alley in Washington DC sometime in the 1930's or 40's. It's about 8 feet high. It reminds one of the chair for the statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial. It is covered with light bulbs in mounted sockets. He built it for God in his spare time, and probably no one ever saw it. It is beautiful, it is powerful, and it grabs ones heart.
In 1973, also displayed in the Smithsonian, human powered flight was finally achieved with the Gossamer Albatross, 69 years after the Wright brothers achieved motor powered flight. It has a clear plastic skin over a thin lightweight frame, driven by pedals and a single rider. Human powered flight has been sought for many centuries and determination finally achieved it.
Unused within the symphony orchestra are beautiful, advanced, orchestrational, voicing, harmonic, and textural languages, and other arranging techniques that developed in jazz big bands from the 30's through 80's and not utilized by orchestras during the times since the symphony orchestras abandoned the present and future.
In response, the composers went their separate ways. But, beautiful opportunities have emerged since the works of Ravel, Rimsky Korsakov, Stravinsky, Debussy, Holst, Bartok, and the other large orchestral masters of the early 20th century. These opportunities are similar to the Throne of Heaven and the Gossamer Albatross but have still remained mostly unused in the orchestra. The discoveries of Stan Kenton, Oliver Nelson, Gll Evans, Manny Albam, Bill Russo, and many others are waiting within the orchestra framework. Waiting to be used.
So, in such a climate, why would I write for large orchestra?
In the past several years, I've personally have had some very frightening medical experiences. Medicare coverage got me through them. I wanted to do the very biggest thing within my abilities to publicly make a statement to fully express my thanks.
Perhaps this Symphony No 1 Medicare could help that, and also it might open the closed door of musical opportunity perhaps aiding the large orchestra to become more relevant, The orchestra needn't be dead yet. Sounds of great beauty are available that haven't been tried or heard yet, sounds that should not be bypassed.
I did have time to write a symphony using all my still available skills and resources, and like the Gossamer Albatross and Throne of Heaven, Symphony No. 1 Medicare now exists.
My goals are to:
• Show a deep expression of gratitude for medical care
• Close the gap between large orchestras, concerts, and living composers
• Continue work that is not yet finished by exploring techniques used in jazz but not yet used in large orchestras
• Write beautiful "music someone might want to listen to"
© 2013 N.H. Derwyn Holder
THE GOSSAMER ALBATROSS AND THE THRONE OF HEAVEN,
WHY I WROTE FOR LARGE ORCHESTRA
By the late 1960's a large shift in music had occurred—streams of music had divided into many paths. With the advent of radio broadcast in the 1930's a constant musical climate spread broadly throughout the culture. Many kinds of music spread broadly crossing localized and regionalized cultural segments around the country and world that had previously remained separate before the introduction of radio.
Symphonies broadcasts on Sunday afternoon, Operas on Saturday afternoon, The Grand Old Opry on Saturday night, comedy-variety shows weeknights with musical artists, specialized half hour shows like Meredith Wilson's, Bernard Hermann's, and probably the most influential on society was recorded pop music on the radio in the daytime. All this inspired musical development in children by undirected absorption.
The harmonically advanced structures of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Victor Young, Richard Rogers, daily soaked unobtrusively into the minds and ears of tots and babies in cribs. This created a climate where a larger segment of society had a more advanced musical sensibility uninterrupted by any visual stimulus.
It is no surprise that, concurrent with the arrival of television and the increase of visual stimulus this musical sensibility, having been developed from an advanced musical and less visual period of child development, began to subside.
Pop tunes of the 30's and 40's that modulated through several key centers devolved into 3 chord Rock n' Roll and eventually to one simple chord music. The eyes took over where the ears had been, and light shows, stage smoke, elaborate costumes and "moves" became prominent.
Other forces, though more remote, moved the harmony toward one chord. Miles Davis' modal jazz period and Ravi Shankar's one chord Indian approach, and even Coltrane's pentatonic structures added to this trend So did classical composers; Philip Glass, Arvo Part, Steve Reich and even more interestingly, Arnold Shoenberg's 12 tone system, which causes what Pierre Bolez calls Serial Modality. Serial Modality is the frequent repetition of all of the pitches so often that, although they occur in different order, they sound like one chord ringing on the piano with the pedal constantly down. (Eb minor 11/Cmajor 13 in jazz harmony notation).
Electronic amplification eliminated the need for large ensembles to produce music in large venues or outdoors. Great orchestration had seemed to peak in the 1920's in symphonic music. However jazz big bands moved much further into new harmonic, voicing, and instrumental combinations, as did film music and some TV music like Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, and Star Trek.
Though somewhat similar to the young children absorbing the music of the 30's and 40's from the radio, adult people are now environmentally trained to "not listen" to music but instead to "put some music on." Actually sitting and only listening, perhaps even with the eyes closed, is a rare experience even at a concert or in the car, or at home, (Because of this, I now recommend that at performances, everyone close their eyes for the first few minutes of listening. This will enhance their experience, even if only done for the first few moments. One will hear much more, and at a concert the improved effect will last for the entire performance.)
Composers most often write for someone to 'listen' to their music, not to "have music on." Even the music played on Muzak was not originally written to 'not listen to'.
To get attention now, light shows and "moves" by instrumentalists, even in classical music, are required, TV broadcasts of symphony orchestras jump camera shots from instrument to instrument based on some director's idea of the what the most important instrument is at that exact time. Yet importantly, every note by every player is carefully placed by the composer to have an important role in the music. If it's not important enough to be on camera, it's not important enough to be played either. Often composers have written clever, funny, moving, entertaining, conflicting, and supporting things that are happening simultaneously. Listening with the eyes, especially on television, obliterates all of this.
Symphony orchestras and their audiences have clearly become museums for a almost fully complete historical cycle of music. They play and listen to music of a completed genre. Statistically, composers and large orchestras have now taken separate paths. Orchestras play a minimum of new works, usually performed only once, funded by contests, grants, and occasional individuals, merely tolerated by audiences who are waiting impatiently until their favorite piece is performed.
Composers live safely inside academic institutions and teach students the principals of music they know. There is often a bad feeling between orchestras and composers. Composers write for small ensembles and electronics because of economics and the near impossibility of getting orchestral performances, let alone to get paid anything.
So why would anyone in their right mind write for symphony orchestra?
(I personally have no idea.)
In one of the Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC, there is a sculpture "The Throne of Heaven" constructed by a poor man in a dank shed in a back alley in Washington DC sometime in the 1930's or 40's. It's about 8 feet high. It reminds one of the chair for the statue of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial. It is covered with light bulbs in mounted sockets. He built it for God in his spare time, and probably no one ever saw it. It is beautiful, it is powerful, and it grabs ones heart.
In 1973, also displayed in the Smithsonian, human powered flight was finally achieved with the Gossamer Albatross, 69 years after the Wright brothers achieved motor powered flight. It has a clear plastic skin over a thin lightweight frame, driven by pedals and a single rider. Human powered flight has been sought for many centuries and determination finally achieved it.
Unused within the symphony orchestra are beautiful, advanced, orchestrational, voicing, harmonic, and textural languages, and other arranging techniques that developed in jazz big bands from the 30's through 80's and not utilized by orchestras during the times since the symphony orchestras abandoned the present and future.
In response, the composers went their separate ways. But, beautiful opportunities have emerged since the works of Ravel, Rimsky Korsakov, Stravinsky, Debussy, Holst, Bartok, and the other large orchestral masters of the early 20th century. These opportunities are similar to the Throne of Heaven and the Gossamer Albatross but have still remained mostly unused in the orchestra. The discoveries of Stan Kenton, Oliver Nelson, Gll Evans, Manny Albam, Bill Russo, and many others are waiting within the orchestra framework. Waiting to be used.
So, in such a climate, why would I write for large orchestra?
In the past several years, I've personally have had some very frightening medical experiences. Medicare coverage got me through them. I wanted to do the very biggest thing within my abilities to publicly make a statement to fully express my thanks.
Perhaps this Symphony No 1 Medicare could help that, and also it might open the closed door of musical opportunity perhaps aiding the large orchestra to become more relevant, The orchestra needn't be dead yet. Sounds of great beauty are available that haven't been tried or heard yet, sounds that should not be bypassed.
I did have time to write a symphony using all my still available skills and resources, and like the Gossamer Albatross and Throne of Heaven, Symphony No. 1 Medicare now exists.
My goals are to:
• Show a deep expression of gratitude for medical care
• Close the gap between large orchestras, concerts, and living composers
• Continue work that is not yet finished by exploring techniques used in jazz but not yet used in large orchestras
• Write beautiful "music someone might want to listen to"
© 2013 N.H. Derwyn Holder