Skip to main content

Philip Glass – Metamorphosis 1-5

 

Minimal Music is, as the name implies, characterized by repetitive, chiefly consonant harmonic and melodic patterns that, depending on the piece, can be repeated ad nauseam. One would think this would render the genre rather boring and bland, but to me, it often has a markedly soothing, almost meditative effect – as is definitely the case for Philip Glass's Metamorphosis series.

            The pieces are all but void of sudden, hectic twists and turns, instead opting for a more subtle dramatism (via the occasional alteration of pitch and volume) and unobtrusive minor mode melancholy. This made them excellent to have on in the background while writing this paper! Their repetitive composition and lack of thematic disruptions also efficiently not only prevented disruptions of my concentration, but seemingly slightly increased it. The music blended into the background so well that it honestly felt as though it made me lose track of time.

            All in all, listening to Glass's Metamorphosis felt to me like a pleasant change of pace, especially since I tend to prefer listening to more energetic, one might even say aggressive genres of music, such as Rock and Electronica, which is not to say that these genres cannot also have a soothing and meditative effects (one need only mention the more ambient strand of Post-Rock), but there is something about the melancholy repetition of Glass's Metamorphosis that seems to provide an extra layer of emotional security – perhaps the genre of Minimal Music seeing its heyday after America was fresh out of the paranoid and uncertain McCarthy era may have something to do with its frequent embodying of consistency and relaxation; a clear countercultural response to the hectic times.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

Pauline Oliveros – The Goddard in the Dan Harpole Cistern

  After watching Dan Harpole's film of Goddard in the Cistern, one is struck by how creepy the location appears and feels. In the light, you can just make out a lengthy ladder leading down into a concrete-walled area. It's absolutely dark, with only the top hatch and a small lamp providing lighting. This sequence accounts for a significant portion of the plot. Three persons are seen climbing up and down the ladder, which might be regarded the music piece's official start. Additionally, while the name "Dan Harpole Cistern" suggests a vast space, it appears to be a homemade video. A hum and other vocal noises travel across the room, bouncing off the walls. The women's voices generate a hum that contributes to the room's unique feel. The beautiful singing is interrupted by metal fragments falling on the floor. One would ask how much thought went into the sounds, given that the majority of them appear to be chosen at random. The emphasis is not on making sound...
Post a Comment
Read more