Meredith Monk’s “Gotham Lullaby” was performed at the Lensic Center for the Performing Arts in 2004. Only a piano and the voice of the performer are needed for this composition.
Gotham Lullaby starts with a harmonious
piano play which is combined with the vocal performance of Meredith Monk. Just
like Pauline Oliveiros, the performer uses her voice, but does not combine it
with any lyrics or words. It can be assumed that the emphasis is more on the
emotions and the meaning that will be conveyed through the melody of voice and
piano.
The emotion that can be felt in Gotham
Lullaby are mostly sorrow and sadness, due to use of tones that I as a listener
connect with sadness. However, the interpretation of the voice and the emotion
that will be felt is
highly subjective and varies from listener to listener. Meredith Monk sometimes
also uses very high notes which contain more air and are less clear than the
rest of the tones used in this composition. Those sounds are rather disruptive
than suitable for the song. The weak high notes in the song can also be
interpreted as a dying cry for help in a sad world.
The title
“Gotham Lullaby” fits to the Composition since the melody of the voice also has
a calming and soothing effect on the listener which is complemented with the
steady flow of the piano and the pleasant sounds that are being created. The
use of the word “Gotham” reminds me as a listener of Gotham City, a fictive
city in the DC comics universe which, especially at night, is filled with
danger, fear, and sadness. These emotions can also be felt during the
performance. Therefore, the Gotham Lullaby can be seen as an escape from a
world that is filled with dangers, fears, and sadness and is meant to soothe
the listener.
Gotham Lullaby
shows an advantage of Meredith Monk’s use of voice. The listener is not bound
to any kind of interpretation by the composer and can freely interpret the song
with their own emotions and experiences and therefore put their own words into
the composition.
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