VOX Cycle
The VOX 5 is part of the VOX Cycle composed by Trevor Wishart between 1979 and 1988. The six independent movements of the VOX Cycle were written for four amplified voices (soprano, tenor, mezzo and bass) and electroacoustic music (in some VOXs he uses both amplified voices and electroacoustic music, in others he uses only one source). The cycle explores the aspects of what it means to be a human being and uses the voice, with various extended techniques, as the main instrument. The cycle has a storyline behind each movement, or each VOX. VOX 1 explores the creation of the world, using various creation myths from different cultures around the world; VOX 2 is a sort of an ode to the beauty of the natural world; VOX 3 an exploration of the intellectual wonders of the civilizations; VOX 4 a disintegration of the human society and organization; VOX 5 a voice of Shiva, the lord of the cosmic dance, that destroys and recreates the world; And VOX 6 a dance-finale with a morph of the profane (pop) and satire, a celebration of the whole cycle.
In my first approach to I felt that if the cycle where to be a film the VOX 1 to the VOX 5 would work as an introduction of the plot, development of the story line and then in VOX 5 a resolution of the film, destroying the plot, characters and space to then recreate a fresh start. And then you have the VOX 6, which would have the function, as a feel good music, to accompany the credits, and bloopers of the film. There is a great difference, in style, rhythm, sound samples, between VOX 6 and the other VOXs of the cycle. But the more I looked into, the more I suspect that maybe this VOX 6 is more of a successful attempted to get pop music into Radio 3, as this last VOX was commissioned by th...
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This work is directly inspired by Der Blaue Reiter Almanach. Primarily a work of prose, it consisted of plays, essays by leading artists and musicians detailing works of the era, and commentary on art, music, theater, and related subjects. The Brooklyn Rider Almanac is conceptually a modern recreation of this idea in music, in that musicians are providing a commentary of artists or their work through their music. In a way, The Brooklyn Rider Almanac approaches the idea of cross-disciplinary art from an opposite prospective as the Onomatopoetic Project. Many of the works presented during the concert as a part of The Brooklyn Rider Almanac were inspired by looking an artistic muse or idea as an inspiration to create music that reflects the muse. Artists from classically trained composers to jazz and rock musicians contributed to this collection of works, and the results are both fascinating and inspiring. One great example of this is Necessary…Henry by Albanian Cellist Rubin Kodheli. Inspired by the jazz musician Henry Threadgill, this work incorporates the styles of rock musicians like Jimi Hendrix into and what could be perceived as the farthest possible medium from rock: the string quartet. Like Threadgill’s earlier use of non-jazz instrumentation and ideas in jazz works, Kodheli uses sounds from the rock genre like virtuosic guitar-like riffs, rock groves, and highly
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When working with early music, modern performers face challenges regarding stylistic and historical accuracy, given limited information on past performances, as well as notable differences in instruments available, technique, and performance practice. Furthermore, they must decide between different approaches that may better reflect the historical sound or intention of past performers, or choose to blend such extremes, creating varied interpretations.
Anna Meredith is a trained and accomplished classical musician, but her debut album is not meant for symphony halls - well, not in the traditional sense. The Scottish composer has performed for the BBC Last Night of the Proms, written pieces for the National Youth Orchestra, and worked with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia ViVA - and now, she's putting out a pop album. Varmints is the culmination of four years of steady exploration of contemporary music by Meredith, and it fantastically avoids sounding buttoned-up or stuffy, like a classical musician's pop experiment very well might. Instead, Meredith pours her talent into these songs, carving uplifting pop pieces from electric guitars, synths, and hollow drums. Not only is it a captivating pop album, but you can see the magic behind the machine - these complex and cacophonous
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When considering the versatility of a synthesiser as a keys player it can widen one’s oeuvre immensely. With its ability to imitate existing sounds and instruments to create beautiful polyphonies and to contrastingly emit haunting, dissonant soundscape’s from previously non-exiting timbres makes it not only a useful tool but and essential piece in a composer’s instrumental repertoire.
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