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SEQUENZA21/
340 W. 57th Street, 12B, New York, NY 10019

Zookeeper:   
Jerry Bowles
(212) 582-3791

Managing Editor:
David Salvage

Contributing Editors:

Galen H. Brown
Evan Johnson
Ian Moss
Lanier Sammons
Deborah Kravetz
(Philadelphia)
Eric C. Reda
(Chicago)
Christian Hertzog
(San Diego)
Jerry Zinser
(Los Angeles)

Web & Wiki Master:
Jeff Harrington


Latest Posts

The Horror. The Horror.
Last Night in L.A. - Minimalism's Influence
I Got the Hungries for Your Love and I'm Waiting in Your Welfare Line
Attention All Twelve-Toners and Intellectual Procateurs
Last Night in L.A. - Steve Reich
Mr. Postman
Pieces Are Played
Last Night in L.A. - Minimalism, European Style
Honey I Shrunk the Program
The Ballad of the Sad Park


 

Record companies, artists and publicists are invited to submit CDs to be considered for review. Send to: Jerry Bowles, Editor, Sequenza 21, 340 W. 57th Street, 12B, New York, NY 10019


Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Last Night in L.A. - What a Trip!

Decasia (2001) played Walt Disney Concert Hall last night. Michael Gordon�s music just dominated the space; the audience seemed stunned when things ended. The applause was long, and sincere, but there were no shouts, no standing ovation as the composer and film-maker came on stage and were brought back again for more recognition. What an experience! If you go to the Decasia site you can see clips from the DVD and the sound track; be advised, however, even with your speakers at their highest level, this gives you no feeling like being there, just a vague approximation.

Four years ago, �JB� wrote this review in Sequenza21. In last night�s performance, Donald Crockett led 55 musicians from USC Thornton school. They were in the orchestra�s usual space, with the large screen hanging above them, in front of the organ. The musicians were divided into three groups, each of which was tuned slightly differently: the low instruments in the center, the strings separated on the two sides, the four keyboards ranged in front. (Understandably, they didn�t try to use some of the hall�s sonic features by spreading out some musicians around the hall.) In some sequences the music seems to accompany the scenes on the disintegrating film, such as the sequence of the aerialist climbing the circus ladder, carefully placing each foot. Often, however, the visuals and the music are on parallel paths heading to a common direction. The music supplies many separate voices; these grow, they coalesce, they re-form, some times they shout out. Some of the sounds were overwhelming; one combination of forces sounded like a diesel train blowing its whistle from within the orchestra.

I have not experienced anything like this. Tonight we have Branca�s Hallucinating City symphony. Am I up for this?

 



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