Here is the painting (click on it to open up a larger version in another window).
Recorded on June 11th, 2008, at Magic Closet Studios, in Portland, OR.
The piece starts delicately, which seems appropriate, but I am surprised at how strong it gets at 1:49. It becomes so vibrant and vital. The tune at 1:49 (which I absolutely love) sounds very American, very New Englandy. It becomes delicate again, and swirls into a minor contemplation. Suddenly at 3:32 it begins swinging, picking up steam. The left hand falls into a repeated descending line (6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 in F# minor), and the right hand flashes rhythmically above it before they die together.
At 4:32 there is a fundamental change, a modulation from B major to E flat minor. The tone becomes much darker and more ominous, much more rhythmically steady. The left hand begins an ostinato that lasts for practically the rest of piece. The right hand continues on violently through the ninth minute before it settles down and, in the tenth, delicately becomes E flat major, slowly dragging the left hand to a stop.
P.S. I hear in this piece at least three direct references to other pieces of music: "El Condor Pasa," by Simon and Garfunkel; "Take Five," by Dave Brubeck; and the theme from The Terminator, by Brad Fiedel. Do you hear them? Any others?
P.P.S. The score for The Terminator (as well as for its sequel) is brilliant, one of my favorite original film scores of the last 25 years.
3 comments:
A print of this was in a friend's house in Austin. Crazy next-door neighbor weed dealer came in and said, "That's supposed to be Patty Hearst, right?"
It seemed plausible...
I keep forgetting to tell you, the first 4 minutes or so of this piece is some of my favorite stuff to listen to on the blog, and in general, really. Very stirring. I also have a strong attachment to this painting since I was transfixed by it on a slightly lonely and solitary visit to the MoMA a few years ago. So I like it, although for me the stirring-ness doesn't really match the painting. Which is fine.
I dig it! I heard the Brubeck when you got to the swinging bit at 3:34. I am currently listening for "El Condor Pasa". I LOVE that song.
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