Skip to main content

Listening Report to Steve Reich – Different Trains

 

With this piece the title already reveals a lot about what awaits you when listening to it. At first, the piece felt chaotic and at the same time calming to me, due to the recurring rhythm of the train sounds. Therefore, my first feelings when listening were rather restless and impatient. However, these feelings were quickly calmed down by the constant rhythm. I kind of lost the sense of time while listening. At first it felt like an endless loop that goes on and on if you do not pay attention to the voices. But if you listen for a second round and focus on the voices, you notice the story that is being told. Although it was a bit challenging for me to always understand what was being said. However, it felt like different chapters of the story were introduced with every new voiceover. Additional, I found the different changes of tempo exciting, as well as how it was adapted to the spoken word. Especially the fact that the music was adapted to the language and rhythm of each individual person was fascinating to me. I also liked the fact that the string instruments at some point imitated the sounds of the train.

With this piece of music, one has almost no choice but to imagine the young Steve Reich on his practically endless journey through the whole country. Due to the train noises in the background, I have a clear picture of him sitting in a train compartment, where otherwise only adults would sit, with his small suitcase and maybe a stuffed animal clamped under his little arm. The mention of the years and the addition of the sirens as background noise intensifies the story and it becomes much more dramatic. In some way it made me nervous because of the increased pace and at the same time curious how the train journeys continue over the years.

And somehow, I also get goosebumps when I realize again that these were real people who can be heard on the recording, telling their story in a small excerpts. It leaves an oppressive feeling and at the same time I think it is good that Steve Reich chose this theme for the piece and included different perspectives on these difficult years. It reminds you that sometimes it is just a small detail that can save you from a lethal fate. It may be enough just to board another train in another country. For me, the end of the piece was somewhat unexpected and abrupt.

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

John Cage – Inlets

  This does not sound like music to me. Depending on the interpretation of different players or performers, this piece will always sound different. In this case, it sounds to me like someone is walking through a cave with water at the bottom, dragging their feet through it. Sometimes it sounds like water in a toilet bowl, especially when we hear the water in a bigger shell being swished around. These sounds are relaxing in the background, it is like a gentle stream of water. I just wonder what went through the head of the composer while writing this piece. But I guess he had some experimental ideas that are interesting to try out. Those shells are quite pretty, I have never seen such big ones that are not broken. I was surprised when something else happened towards the end of the piece. That tone which came out of the one shell was so clear, it sounded like a trumpet. I didn’t know that shells can sound like that. It was quite beautiful. It was a nice way to end the piece. I di...
Post a Comment
Read more