Skip to main content

Listening report Sebastian Ermer John Luther Adams: Drums of Fire, Drums of Stone

 

John Luther Adams' "Drums of Fire, Drums of Stone" is a percussion piece that is inspired by the natural environment of the Arctic. While the whole album “Earth and the Great Weather” focuses on nature and its sound, "Drums of Fire, Drums of Stone" focuses on the sound of thunder and eruptions, specifically volcano eruptions.

The first half of "Drums of Fire, Drums of Stone" is powerful and intense, as it is dominated by the sound of the bass drums. The rhythmic patterns are repetitive and gradually build in intensity, evoking the image of a volcanic eruption. The use of various metallic percussion instruments creates a shimmering and metallic quality to the sound, adding to the explosive energy of the piece. At the same time, this first part of the piece also utilizes recordings of nature, with the piece starting off by playing a recording of a thunderstorm before the instruments kick in.

The second half is a stark contrast to the first. It is slower and more contemplative, yet nonetheless keeps the intensity of the first half. The piece is built around a repeating melody that is passed between the instruments, creating an intense yet almost meditative soundscape that creates image of the power and destruction nature is capable of.

In "Drums of Fire, Drums of Stone", Adams creates a rich and diverse sound world using only percussion instruments, showcasing the range of textures and timbres that are possible with these instruments. The interplay between the different instruments is particularly impressive, as each player's contribution is carefully balanced and layered to create a cohesive whole.

Overall, "Drums of Fire, Drums of Stone" is a stunning composition that showcases the power and versatility of percussion instruments. Its usage of sounds and recording elevates the piece, showcasing a truly unique sound that resembles indigenous music at times.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Listening Report on John Oswald: Plexure

 Sarah Kumar Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath The Future of (American) Music 06 Mar. 2023 Listening Report on John Oswald: Plexure According to John Oswald, “[a] plunderphone is a recognizable sonic quote, using the actual sound of something familiar which has already been recorded” (Lecture Slides 18). However, only if the source stays recognizable can it be called plunderphonics. In his album Plexure , several songs are played back and mixed together, thus creating a new sound. This is interesting because while the excerpts of songs that are used are recognizable or at least sound familiar to some degree, played backwards and mashed up as they are in Plexure , they create a new sound. Like on the cover of the album, on which a collage making up a man can be seen, the mixing of different songs played backwards gives a new feeling to something known. The way the songs are mixed makes them unintelligible. The meaning of the words of the original recordings are not able to be compr...
Post a Comment
Read more

William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops III

  The Disintegration Loops is a quartet of albums published in 2002 and 2003 by American avant-garde composer William Basinski. The pieces are made up of tape loop recordings that were played over time, with noise and crackles rising as the tape deteriorated. Basinski noticed this effect when attempting to convert his older recordings to digital format. The completion of the recordings coincided with the September 11, 2001 events, which Basinski witnessed and adds a deeper meaning to the composition. The composition is fascinating in many ways and makes the listener lose track of time. The tape loop recording had a very calming effect on me and put me in a trance-like state when I listened to it in its entirety. The tape loop is really soothing, so much so that I didn't even notice the loss of quality when I first listened to it. It makes you forget about time and allows you to really get into the piece capturing the calmness it exudes. You forget or don't really notice how i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pierre Schaeffer - Étude pathétique

  Pierre Schaefer begins the piece with sounds produced by drums and similar percussion instruments. One hears the sound of an object spinning and then coming to a stop. I assume it is a circular object, like a cymbal or hi-hat of a drum kit, that spins until it comes to a stop. Sounds of a locomotive follow, continuing with a mixture of drums and spinning objects as well as voices. There are slight parallels here with another piece by Schaeffer, "etude aux chemins de fer," in which he has the musical piece consist of sounds of trains and locomotives. I also recognize an accordion and a violin playing rapidly, accompanied by human sounds that are not really decipherable. By combining all these background sounds and using human voices, Schaeffer creates an exciting atmosphere while listening to the piece, and the listener's auditory senses are constantly challenged to decipher all the details of the sounds. At times one could be reminded of a scene from a scary movie, at l...
Post a Comment
Read more