Day 7--Moderns and Film

We looked a little more at some of the experiments of our time. This moved us easily into film music which like all music utilizes a vast amount of sounds, styles, and approaches. A study of the music of the architect turned musician Iannis Xenakis reveals a unique structure and sound unlike other composers. Does this make his music inferior or superior? Neither. It makes his music original and multi-dimensioned. On that subject, we discussed Minimalism a little more.

While this concept may have begun partly from the drug culture of the 60s with hints of Eastern mysticism (although I will argue that Minimalism as a technique has been around for centuries), it has taken flight and can now be found in mainstream media and is accepted as a style or genre on the par with any other kind of music. Anytime a new idea is born, artists take different pathways from that idea toward other means of expression. For Steve Reich, he took a less popular approach and began experimenting with complex rhythms and harmonies. This gives his music depth and complexity but not always a quick appeal. Philip Glass, however, took the idea to a "softer" more acceptable region and found himself immersed in the world of film music.

Back to Glass in a minute. Other composers such as John Adams, elected to incorporate the concepts of minimalism in his own brand of musical poetry and creative expression. This makes his music sound emotionally charged yet driven by text and story. Take a minute to experience Nixon in China on youtube. Search for Nixon in China. It is a powerful opera and monumental in many respects.

It is the music of Philip Glass that has had the most dramatic influence on music today. Film scores, symphonies, piano music, organ music, chamber works, concertos, and even commercials have adopted his music. A style of repetition, engaging harmonies, intriguing pulsation, trance-like rhythm, and depth of orchestration all lend themselves to an appealing sound not easy to dismiss nor forget. In many ways, his score fully represents and enhances the visuals of the film, such as in The Illusionist, a stunning and haunting work ideal for the techniques of Philip Glass. He continues to compose at a breakneck pace producing works for small ensembles, large orchestras, piano, organ, and film scores. Will his music withstand the test of time? Nobody knows but you are welcome to speculate!

A brief discussion of John Williams, Hans Zimmer, James Horner, Dmitri Tiomkin, and Erich Korngold reminded us not to dismiss the music of film scores. Often original, emotional, and well-crafted, film scores continue to be regarded as some of the finest music of the 20th Century and beyond. My respect for these composers cannot be overstated. What do you think? Do you like film music?

We jumped full force into the world of Oliver Messiaen, pointing out the melding of bird sounds with "Modes of Limited Transposition." Watching a video of Messiaen, followed by moment of listening to a portion of Turangalila, gave us a sense of the power, beauty, and creativity of Messiaen's music. Certainly masterful, yet difficult to perform, Messiaen remains one of the major composers of the last half of the 20th Century.