HOMER IN CYBERSPACE has finished its run. Since critics are discouraged from reviewing student events at UCLA Theater Department, I can’t offer you reviews. One rather rather grouchy and clueless review appeared in the Santa Monica Mirror online that sounded as though it was expecting a play and was annoyed to find it so cluttered with music that just got in the way of the story. Uhh, will someone give this person the clue phone?
I skipped the Saturday matinée and it turns out that the audio system DIED just before Conference of the iGods. Mel vamped till ready, the show stopped for 15 minutes and then went on. What was lost were the individual tracks of my music, so the sound gang put up my stereo mixes and everything was fine. Kinda. Certain songs contained an instrumental double of the melody that may have surprised the singers. But considering all the technology in this show, it was amazing that more didn’t go wrong. It seemed that almost every night, poor Parnia (Demeter) would disappear from the video projection, although the audience would hear her voice. Often a back projection would disappear followed by “the blue screen of death.” Some cursed “that damned Dell” and another blamed it on “that 32 year old cable that bridges this theater with Melnitz Hall.” I’m sure it was just a poltergeist, probably called Odysseus.
There was an interesting (unscripted?) ending last night. When the curtain falls at the end, it is not clear whether O and Penelope stay together or not. In the curtain calls, O and Penelope are in the middle, and then separate to opposite sides of the stage, giving the impression that indeed they DID go their separate ways. Last night, Kevin (O) held onto Grace (Penelope) and tugged her along with him to his side of the stage, giving the impression, on the last night, that they stayed together, living happily ever after.
Last night was the final and probably the best performance.
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Excerpts from emails, heard and overheard comments about “Homer in Cyberspace”:
“The melodies are fabulous.”
“It’s a lot to take in on one listening.”
[Everyone loved the sirens -- male and female -- all wanted more.]
“I HATED the synthesizer sounds.”
“I normally hate synthesizer sounds, but your palette was ravishing. I loved it.”
“…a superb play and historic event”
[Those that found the plot tricky to take in on one hearing seemed confused at intermission and less so at the end of the show. I think that's a good thing.]
“This is a trip!”
“I couldn’t always understand the words, and when there is plot being told, and I can’t understand it, that is a problem for me.” (This chap had a hearing aid. Hearing aids make everything monophonic. The cocktail party effect disappears and sonic dimension flattens. So, I can imagine prerecorded music being balanced with the voices of the actors singing and speaking, could be exhausting.)
“What I enjoyed most in Homer were several of the large ensemble pieces, the one where the crew thinks they’re homeward bound, great ship set and always great energy, at times too fast for me, and then the scene with, I presume, Zeus and the rest of the gods-gang, parts of the Hades and Persephone scene, and the occasional choral moments were nice –”
“I really liked the music.”
“Reminded me of CANDIDE.”
“The style of musical was fresh and interesting — sexy, hilarious, and beautiful at the same time — represented and supported the mood of musical. I still remember the “101010101″. That was brilliant, and memorable moment. It must be a challenge to write music in various styles, but you successfully did. (honestly, that’s not what I normally expect from classical composer’s work). You are truly Stephen Sondheim in UCLA!”
“I keep wondering what I’m missing by not knowing who Homer was.”
[One cast member made it clear she would have LOVED to have a solo in the second act. "Sorry, I didn't write the story."]
“I heard some resonance with Rodgers and Hammerstein in “Part Time Lover” am I mistaken?”
“Not at all” I replied.
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I guess I have become “the hugging composer” or something. After every performance, people lined up and gave me hugs.
In the mid-1980s my publisher told me about the gay choral movement. Several of his composers had written for the chorus in New York and he encouraged me to make connections to try to join that world. It didn’t happen until 1991 when the late Leonard Raver (organist to the NY Phil) recommended to Jon Bailey that Roger Bourland was the composer to compose a new cantata addressing the AIDS epidemic that was killing many gay men at the time.
The work that came out of that conversation was HIDDEN LEGACIES, a 7-part cantata for gay men’s chorus, synthesizer ensemble, bass and drums. John Hall wrote the lyrics. The work was widely performed by most of the large gay choruses in the US over the next two years. Two things ultimately retired this piece: the ensemble includes synthesizers that are no longer in production, and with protease inhibitors, AIDS became manageable and choruses stopped demanding the cure. This manifested itself in programming by leaving politically based works and returning to the roots of the gay choral repertoire: showtunes and campy stuff.
In 1992 I founded Yelton Rhodes Music, started at that time because I discovered a huge amount of gay and lesbian choral literature unpublished by traditional publishers. (We are still in business, but gay choruses are no longer our primary customers. Gay choruses now prefer big shows of reviews by a broadway composer, or a pop songwriter, or music from a decade. Licensing these efforts is a legal nightmare, so we don’t help out with these “publications” they are, rather, “shared” or sold by the arranger.) I was elected the Chairman of the Board of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles in 1994. I ran for the board of GALA (the organization that oversees the gay and lesbian choruses in the US) but wasn’t elected.
I remember defending gay choruses all the time. People, especially straight people, would question the need for segregated choruses by sexual orientation. I would often point to the need of many gay men to find a new family when they had been dissed by their own. Surviving AIDS was another huge bonding factor. And then there was finding a partner, why not find one in a chorus rather than in a bar?
Last Saturday Daniel and I attended the GMCLA winter concert. The winter concert used to be the “serious” concert where classical or specially commissioned works would show up. This was all music from American musical theater in the 20th century (read: show tunes). What was refreshing was that most were tunes I didn’t know. The arrangements were beautifully done, staged, and performed. But chorus members I spoke to were concerned by a half full house. As I looked about the room, I saw largely an over-50 crowd — not unlike attending classical chamber music concerts. (Daniel was the youngest one there, and that’s likely because he was with me.) Gone are the days of angry queers demanding equal rights in society (we almost have them), letting the world know that we are here and queer and fabulous (they know, they know), and demanding answers to the AIDS epidemic (well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad).
So are gay choruses still relevant?
Birds of a feather will always flock together. There are zillions of clubs and social organizations: the Kiwanis Club, the Moose Lodge, the Rotary Club, the PEO, women’s clubs, the Junior League, gangs, sports teams for pros and amateurs, churches, bars, debating teams, and so on. We find any excuse to join together as a social group to do something. Gay and lesbian choruses have the right and need to exist as any other club does.
My last gay piece was one that I wrote with Philip Littell for the Gay Men’s Chorus of Boston about gay marriage. That topic is till a hot potato but the choruses would rather entertain these days than kvetch, and that is their right.
Sing on queer choruses!
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Here is a video of “Coffee in a Cardboard Box” from a previous season.
Renowned for their inventive staging and vocal musicianship, GMCLA scored a major triumph with ‘They Had It Coming: the music of Kander & Ebb’. Here’s a small ensemble singing ‘Coffee In A Cardboard Cup’ from the show ‘70, Girls, 70′. [Uploaded by jimroman]
Daniel and I have fabulous front row tickets to the Chamber Music series at Disney Hall. On Tuesday, Josie (his mother) and I went to a concert that featured our new conductor, Gustavo Dudamel. Like us, everyone was anxious to see him in action. But here he played second violin in the Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A — a part that doesn’t have a huge amount to do with the exception of keeping the harmonies filled out and the motion going. In the rare moment that his part came to the fore, he would start moving and swaying and tightening that adorable dimple in his cheek. When Gustavo plays, it occurred to me that notes come from his entire body — you know how on a garden hose’s nozzle, there are different settings: the spray, the intense wide range spray, the single stream intense spray, and the one that comes out gently — such are Gustavo’s settings. But the one he used most often last night was the intense single stream pointed at the balconies. His body would lean back, he would take a big breath, and one long beautiful note went flying towards the balcony.
I loved watching his interaction with the 1st violinist, Martin Chalifour — everything felt like healthy conversations between friends.
Mr Dudamel has an intense little vibrato — it reminded me of the Kolisch Quartet recordings, an almost early 20th century German sound.
Gustavo is a short person. He is also very young. And the fans in Disney Hall love him already. Many gave HIM a standing ovation. Michelle Zukofsky was puzzled for the 3 call backs the group received, and then realized they were clapping for the 2nd violinist. (Her performance was transcendent and thrilling by the way.)
I am confident the search committee found the right conductor for the LA Philharmonic in the early 21st century. Welcome young Gustavo! LA loves you already.
I watched the new Tim Burton realization of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd” the other day. I found it absolutely thrilling. But I realized that what I mean by “it” is probably different than what others may mean.
We went with Ronnie who looked at it as a musical trying to be a movie, as manifested by the many gory scenes. For her money the film was not a success. For me, I imagine myself to be Sondheim and would be thrilled to have had such a terrific realization of my music firmly fixed in a visual medium.
The music from the film was terrific of course. I couldn’t identify all of the underscore. It is perhaps underscore from the musical that didn’t make it to the recording, but I wondered whether Sondheim had done some of it fresh. It was all brilliantly orchestrated by Jonathan Tunick.
I was proud of Johnny Depp and Helen Bonham Carter for doing such good performances in the film. Carter’s voice seemed a bit meek and I was momentarily horrified thinking a whole new generation of Sweeney lovers would grow up knowing HER performance, and not someone like Angela Lansbury. I realized that I was starting to sound like an old fart so I’m learning to live with Helen’s fine performance.
After going on about what great music it all was, I realized that many people will have a hard time getting through the gore to find the music. And when I tell people how much I love this film, I don’t mean to be saying I LIKE this twisted character and what he does, I just love the music in the film.
This music is, musically, everything I would want from a smart musical. ["Smart" as opposed to a populist musical like a Disney musical, with that pre-canned Disney sound.] As I listen to the music, I hear influences from many of my favorite composers — Ravel or Puccini or Stravinsky. I don’t hear any explicit influence from his old teacher [Milton Babbitt], but I hear Lenny, and I hear Bizet’s “Carmen.”
If I were to articulate my greatest goal as a composer, it would be to compose large scale pieces in the tradition of “Carmen,” “West Side Story,” and “Sweeney Todd.” The mix of popular music and so-called classical music in all three is thrilling to me.
The LA Times had an interesting article about the Beatles place in the memories of teenage girls! ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, the terrific new film by Julie Taymor, was a great success in my book. I love the film, and especially the psychedelia, but I was mostly surprised at how much I loved the Beatles arrangements. Being a Beatles snob, I like very few covers that have been done of their music. But the guy (Jim Sturgess) that sings in the movie is terrific. Not that he imitates Paul or John, it just works for the music. And the arrangements by T-Bone Burnett and Elliot Goldenthal were superb.
Last night Peter, Juliana, Scott and I went to hear Max Raabe and the Palast Orchestra. In this tour, the ensemble devoted the evening to the crooner cabaret music of the mid 1920s through the 1930s. Post Al Jolson. Kurt Weill, Irving Berlin, and others. I didn’t find Max’s voice remarkable, but appropriate to the style. He doesn’t move to the music (don’t think David Byrne), and disappears into the shadows when he doesn’t sing. The 13 piece ensemble included Max, hair slicked back, short and deadpan, and a man of few physical gestures; a seven piece wind group, all who play brass, woodwinds AND violin (sic); a drummer who knows the style and has great energy; a banjo, guitar, National Steel guitar, mandolin and violin player; the bass player who also plays tuba (very well) as well as a violin; a pianist; and the only woman, a violinist.
I couldn’t help but think that the music we heard had all been transcribed from recordings as the scores are probably long gone. The concert was excellent and I recommend the music to everyone. Well, if you are creeped out by hearing too much German, you might not like them as two thirds of the music was sung in German, and many of the composers were German. And as I looked around Royce Hall at intermission, I realized that there were a LOT of senior citizen German people in the audience. You could hear them humming along on the Fritz Kreisler song. One of my Jewish composer buddies fled at intermission. “Enough!” he spouted as he left. I could have left at intermission too but I stayed with my pals and enjoyed it.
I told Peter that I want my second opera to take place during the roaring 20s. I’d love to tap into that musical language but not be a slave to the exact language.
Here is a video (”In Der Bar Zum Krokodil”) that illustrates Raabe’s singing style although here he is only accompanied by the piano. Visit YouTube to hear more of their work.
For those of you brave enough to learn about how your brain distorts and deceives reality (that’s right: YOUR reality) I can’t recommend highly enough Cordelia Fine’s “a mind of its own” [Norton]. I am actually the Wizard of Oz, or I think I am, and behind the scenes is this busy little man huffing and puffing and creating a big scene, hoping you won’t discover what’s really going on. The chapter titles speak for themselves: The Vain Brain; The Emotional Brain; The Immoral Brain; The Deluded Brain; The Pig-headed Brain; The Secretive Brain; The Weak-Willed Brain; The Bigoted Brain; and The Vulnerable Brain.
For someone who truly wishes to “know thyself” this is a must read.
Certain composers’ oeuvre can be thought of as one large composition. Each piece is cut from that large fabric. Composers that come to mind in this category are Edgard Varése and George Crumb. Similarly, there are songwriters who, in addition to penning a popular song, compose song prototypes (for lack of a better word), and throughout their career recompose these songs, consciously or unconsciously, with those prototypes. Songwriters in this category include James Taylor and Paul McCartney. Songwriters and their publishers are very aware of the audience’s attraction to these prototypes.
RELEASE THE STARS (2007, Geffen), Rufus Wainwright’s latest album, was recorded balancing and competing with the gravitational fields of his Judy Garland shows and starting his new opera for the Met. All Rufus fans were curious to see what he would do next. With four CDs under his belt to date, and many more available as collaborations and songs on films, Rufus has amassed a handsome catalog of songs. Many are historically significant (read more in my upcoming book), and many are prototype songs, and not just of his own, but of other artists as well.
In my opinion, many of the songs from RELEASE resonate with some of his earlier songs. I wonder whether this decision to tap into his own prototypes already is a marketing choice, an example of automatic-pilot writing, or a lack of exploring new ideas. Composers who do not open themselves up to new music sadly fall into the latter category and keep rewriting the same songs for a whole career, if it lasts that long. Other songwriters infuriate and surprise their audiences by reinventing themselves every few years. Rufus hasn’t really done either. He knows a lot of music and uses that knowledge as a vast musical palette.
That being said, RELEASE is Rufus’s next album. Nothing groundbreaking in it, but there is evidence that in this album, seeds are planted that, if well tended, should blossom and metamorphose into a career as a so-called, classical composer.
If this were a concept album, I would discuss the songs in order of their playlist. I don’t find this CD to be one, so I’ll choose to accent the songs I hear as the strongest ones, and mention the other songs to tweak your interest, or not.
“Nobody’s Off the Hook” is scored for Rufus (voice and piano) and string quartet. The spirit of a bouncy Schubert song hangs over this one. The “movement” is really a song: melody over a chord progression. The strings add textural color but are not central to most of the song. It doesn’t matter. This string arrangement is BY RUFUS. Good for you Rufus! You do NOT disappoint me. I see this as a young concert composer flapping his wings. The direction to go now is to take out the piano and give it all to the strings. But he’s not ready to do that quite yet. Listen to how the string writing gets braver and braver as the song goes on. I’ll be patient. The harmonic language of the song nothing nothing that can’t be found in a Carpenter’s song, but the presence of the string quartet gives it a new classiness.
“Tulsa” is also scored for strings and Rufus (piano and voice). The song opens with a vamp reminiscent of “The Art Teacher” and has song-like melody-with-chords underpinning throughout, but here we here Rufus’s string writing abilities kicking up a notch: becoming more daring, pushy, active, and containing more idiomatic writing for the strings. Bravo Rufus! The song is only 2:19 long. (It’s a lot of work writing down notes ain’t it Rufus?)
“Leaving for Paris” is an older, Poulencian song that many of us have known for quite a while. It’s a great song and was worth bringing out. The orchestration is for Rufus (voice and piano) and a multi-tracked bass played by Jeff Hill. The orchestration is eccentric and I’ve grown to like it quite a lot after hating it on first listening.
I learned a great deal hearing Vince Mendoza’s orchestration and arrangement of Joni Mitchell music on her last two albums. For me, this music became “Late Mitchell” in the spirit of “Late Beethoven” the point being that when artists revisit their early work, late in life, it is interesting. To hear Joni sing “Both Sides Now” and “A Case of You” with orchestra tears me apart. It is with that hope that I find “Sanssouci” a great song. But what a dorky orchestration. I must confess to not liking the Beatles original orchestration of “Here, There, and Everywhere.” It’s one I’d love to hear Paul do late in life with an orchestration by Vince Mendoza. So, I can imagine a huge range of vocal artists taking on “Sanssouci” and making it the great song it is. But here it sounds like a peppy little pop song. The harmonic layout is a blues progression in slow motion, with a few little harmonic niceties spritzed over it like so much truffle oil.
“Going to a Town” has the orchestrational and compositional thumb print of Paul McCartney all over it. The tune is catchy and great fun to sing. I don’t claim to be an authority on what Rufus says in his lyrics, but there seems to be a Dylan protest streak in him that wells up from time to time and the refrain “I’m so tired of you America” is one such manifestation of that streak. This is his “hit single” from the album, so Geffen and/or Rufus found this to have the most potential for a wide audience.
In it’s drone-like Arabic flavor “Do I Disappoint You” opens the CD in much the same way that “Agnus Dei” opened WANT TWO. The orchestration here is rather fun to follow, although this old orchestration teacher would have advised him to thin it out a bit. It is a wedge song, or a “climactic” song whose function in a concert is to create high drama. Speaking of which, take a look at the audio shapes of these Wainwright songs. Although equalization obscures the shape we actually hear, you can still see the dramatic (volume) shape of each song as a wedge.
Release the Stars
Do I Disappoint You?
An Old Whore’s Diet
Oh What a World
These shapes are interesting as they illustrate attention the overall form and flow of the song. So many pop songs have one orchestration, one volume, and are made to be heard on bad car radios. Rufus’s approach to song writing is more dramatically oriented, more concert oriented: how the song will fit into a play list on a CD or a concert. His sensitivity as to exactly where to put the power song, the love song, the kick back song, the clever song, and the naughty song should serve him well in his efforts to write his opera.
The other songs? “Release the Stars” is a climactic set-ender for live shows. “Between My Legs” is one of Rufus’s bacchanal romps. “Rules and Regulations” is a toe-tappin’ summer song. “Not Ready to Love” is his slow song for the album reminiscent of “Want.” “Slideshow” is a happier version of “Go or Go Ahead” from WANT ONE. “Tiergarten” should have been recorded on kd lang’s “Endless Summer” — that was the album where she fell in love, the edge blunted, and we got a cheery poppy album.
My prediction is that his music will split: he will write music for himself to perform, and then, if he can pull it off, write music meant for OTHERS to perform. I’m routing for you Rufus. And I am not disappointed.
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I like to go to summer blockbuster movies, you know, the big ones like Superman, Batman, Spiderman, and Pirates of the Caribbean and such. Unlike many of my friends, I don’t go expecting enlightenment or anything too serious. Entertainment and a night out with friends or a date with my honey is just fine.
On Friday, Daniel and I joined our dear friends The Roving Church of Fun for a night at El Capitan to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 3. The Roving Church, of which we are part time members, got its start at the local Renaissance Fairs and loves dressing up in historic costumes. Daniel and I have never been big costume types, but love these folks and any excuse to spend time with them in our busy schedule is worth while. On Friday, they were all dressed in pirate garb. We ate at a local California Pizza Kitchen and entertained many of the tourist patrons with pirate songs and costume and lots of loud ARRRGGGHH type pirate sounds. We then moved over to the movie line (waited for an hour) and continued our fun there. The management loved it and despite having to wait in line, cordoned off a section of the theater just for us. Yay! I must report that neither I, nor many of the group really “got” the story, but no matter, the action and silliness on the screen was plenty, as was the comradery.
Last night, Daniel and I decided against attending a concert by the Briton Ensemble (the musical offshoot of the Roving Church) to spend time together and go on a date. We ate at the new restaurant CHARCOAL located right next to LA’s premiere movie palace, the Cinerama Dome, and then watched Shrek 3. I must tell you: Shrek 3 is NOT a kids movie– nothing naughty or anything, but all the humor is adult and is one of the best written blockbuster movies I’ve seen in a long time. So if you are looking for a movie to take kids to that you will likely enjoy more than they will, go to Shrek 3. What a fun movie!! You many even attain enlightenment (lol).
[Image above shows James Hendricks (out of focus dude with the beard and accordion) leading members of the Briton Ensemble in line at El Capitan.]
Despite the fact that Mark Carlson told me that of his class of 30 students, only 2 had heard of her, I am happy to recommend a terrific new compilation of covers of Joni Mitchell songs just released on Nonesuch (3 cheers for Bob Hurwitz). It is not a sing-around-the campfire love fest of old Joni songs. Many of the artists chose rarely heard numbers to revisit. Some of these songs were formerly released on other CDs, but many are new, and really worth buying.
Sufjan Stevens Mariachizes “Free Man in Paris” with his cheery and bubbly voice, making the song his own. Björk delivers an eerily chilling treatment of “The Bojo Dance. Caetano Veloso lights a doobie and floats to the Caribbean with “Dreamland” and I swear he sounds an awful lot like David Byrne. Brad Mehldau offers a gorgeous piano solo, evoking Keith Jarrett and Fred Hersch in his “Don’t Interrupt the Sorrow.” It was amazing to hear Cassandra Wilson channeling Joni’s unique amplitude modulation type vibrato and phrasing in “For the Roses.” Prince reaches high high high into his register to turn “A Case of You” into a near soft-gospel prayer. Like Wilson, Sarah McLachlan respects Joni’s original providing multi-layered vocals (all-Sarah) in a devastating revisit of “Blue.” One of the amazing numbers, Annie Lenox’s “Ladies of the Canyon” starts with an 80s synth vamp that grows into a thrilling world-music meets the 60s accompaniment. Emmylou Harris converts “The Magdalena Laundries” back into the folk-country song that lurked behind Joni’s original jazzy version. Elvis Costello sings “Edith and Kingpin” accompanied by a brilliant Ornette Coleman-style cool jazz ensemble. The album ends with the better and better k.d. lang who covers “Help Me” with the help of her old collaborator, Ben Mink.
Whether you are looking for a new Joni album (stop waiting, she has retired), or want to rediscover some new angles on songs you know and don’t, or are looking for an album to orchestrate your life this spring, “A Tribute to Joni Mitchell” will likely please many. I love it.
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