Sarah Kumar
Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath
The Future of (American) Music
05 Mar. 2023
Listening Report on John Luther Adam’s Become Ocean
The
composition starts off with a slowly rising sound, reminiscent of the way waves
start to form and develop in the ocean. The woodwind instruments are going up
and down the same pattern, and then the brass instruments come in at once,
again reminding me of a wave that has formed and is collapsing back into the
ocean. The harp signifies the receding of the waves and the calming of the
ocean, before the string instruments pick up pace again and the brass
instruments come in to create more depth in sound. Even the movement of the conductor
and the musicians on the string instruments move their arms up and down like a
wave, thus visually supporting what the sound is trying to convey. The
percussion instruments add to the sound of ocean as they remind me of drops of
water that make sound on the ocean’s surface.
The
title Become Ocean hints at something or someone becoming the ocean – or
rather, a part of it. It speaks of the environmental changes that occurred and
are still occurring to this day and that in the end, as the conductor in the
beginning of the piece said, everything will return – or become – the ocean
again (Become Ocean 03:05). The rising and falling of the instruments
can therefore both mean the rising and falling of waves as well as the
expanding of the ocean as it continues to grow. The ocean covers about 71
percent of the earth’s surface, and it is not so far-fetched to think that this
amount will keep growing and covering more of the earth.
At
about halfway into the video, the orchestra grows quieter and more subdued. Only
a few string instruments and the piano can be heard, softly playing. As the
sound picks up in volume again, the harp comes in, and the string instruments
grow louder again. After the previous softness of the instruments, it almost
feels like a new beginning, as if the ocean has succeeded in absorbing
everything on earth and is starting over fresh. The last third of Become
Ocean continues on rising and falling in volume with the woodwind
instrument and harp in the foreground. And like before, the string instruments
rise in sound before receding again, like waves, with the soft sounds of the
drums in the background bringing in the depth of the ocean. It evokes a feeling
not dissimilar to actually looking at the ocean and seeing its enormous size and
movement.
Works Cited
Comments
Post a Comment