La Crosse New Music Festival 2024

MINIMALISM

Concert 2: Spectrum

Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt
Michelle Elliott, violin
Mary Ellen Haupert, piano
Dancers from the UWL Dance program
Ashley Dobrogosz, choreographer

Love Divided By by Philip Glass
Jonathan Borja, flute
Mary Ellen Haupert, piano

Chanting Atmospheres by Monte Weber
Liz Pearse, voice
with looping machine

Stay On It by Julius Eastman
Jeff Erickson and Steve Mann, saxophones
John Ailabouni, trumpet
Liz Pearse, piano
Amanda DeBoer Bartlett, voice
JJ Pearse, keyboard percussion

About tonight’s pieces

Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt

"Spiegel im Spiegel" by Arvo Pärt is one of the most well-known examples of his signature "tintinnabuli" style, which he developed in the mid-1970s. Composed in 1978 for violin and piano, the title translates to "Mirror in the Mirror," reflecting the piece’s serene, introspective nature and the sense of infinite reflection created by its musical structure.

Overview of the Work

"Spiegel im Spiegel" is a minimalist work that utilizes slow, repeating patterns to create a meditative atmosphere. The composition consists of a simple, recurring piano accompaniment that moves in triadic arpeggios, paired with long, sustained tones in the violin (or other possible solo instruments). Together, these elements evoke a profound calmness, inviting the listener into a reflective, almost timeless space.

Structure and Form

The structure of the piece is deceptively simple. The piano plays a steady sequence of arpeggiated triads that slowly ascend and descend, creating a continuous, flowing texture. Meanwhile, the violin moves through a series of slowly evolving phrases, each note held for an extended duration and gently progressing through the scale. The piece maintains a steady tempo, with no climactic moment; instead, it sustains a meditative, unwavering calm from start to finish.

This compositional technique, known as "tintinnabuli," is based on the interplay of two types of voices: one moving in stepwise motion within a chosen scale, and the other outlining a triadic harmony. In "Spiegel im Spiegel," this approach yields a profound sense of balance and symmetry, with the music unfolding like an endless reflection in a mirror, creating a sensation of infinite expansion and return.

Inspirations and Themes

The title, "Mirror in the Mirror," suggests a visual metaphor of mirrors reflecting each other, creating endless, recursive images. This concept of reflection is mirrored in the music, with its repetitive structure and symmetrical phrasing. The piece can be seen as a meditation on simplicity, stillness, and purity, capturing a quiet but deeply resonant emotional depth.

Pärt’s "tintinnabuli" style was influenced by his spiritual beliefs and his exploration of early sacred music. The minimalist, almost sacred quality of "Spiegel im Spiegel" invites listeners to slow down and contemplate, reflecting on the beauty of simplicity and the passage of time.

Performance and Reception

Performing "Spiegel im Spiegel" requires restraint and focus, as the slow pace and lack of overt dynamics or gestures demand a controlled and sensitive approach. Musicians must pay close attention to phrasing, breath, and subtle variations in tone, allowing the music’s tranquility to shine through without interruption.

Since its creation, "Spiegel im Spiegel" has become one of Pärt’s most beloved pieces and is often used in films, contemplative settings, and meditative events. Its universal appeal lies in its ability to evoke a sense of timelessness and introspection, allowing listeners to find solace and meaning in its simplicity. "Spiegel im Spiegel" continues to be celebrated as an exquisite example of minimalism, embodying Pärt’s belief in the power of music to touch the soul through quiet reflection and purity of sound.

Love Divided By, by Philip Glass

"Love Divided By" by Philip Glass is a chamber work composed in 1992 for the Philip Glass Ensemble and is known for its intimate yet intense exploration of relationships and emotions. As one of Glass's more introspective pieces, it combines his signature minimalist techniques with a lyrical, almost theatrical quality, capturing a dynamic range of feelings.

Overview of the Work

"Love Divided By" is structured around repetitive patterns that shift gradually, creating a hypnotic, meditative quality typical of Glass’s style. However, this piece departs from the driving momentum seen in some of his earlier works, taking on a more subdued, reflective tone. The piece often feels like a dialogue, with musical phrases passing back and forth among the ensemble members, suggesting an intimate conversation or an inner monologue.

Structure and Form

The composition features interlocking motifs that evolve over time, with subtle changes in harmony, rhythm, and dynamics. As with much of Glass’s music, "Love Divided By" employs cycles of repetition, but in this piece, the repetitions are interwoven with unexpected pauses and shifts, allowing moments of silence and introspection to emerge. The harmonies are rich and warm, providing a lush background against which individual voices occasionally rise to the fore, adding a personal, almost vulnerable quality.

The ensemble typically includes winds, keyboards, and percussion, creating a blend of textures that are both transparent and resonant. The instrumental voices are carefully balanced, with Glass using contrasting timbres to heighten moments of tension and release, giving the work a sense of emotional ebb and flow.

Inspirations and Themes

While the title "Love Divided By" is evocative, Glass did not provide specific programmatic details, leaving the interpretation open to listeners. The title suggests themes of division, introspection, and perhaps the complexities of relationships. The music itself reflects these ideas, with its careful balance between unity and individuality, repetition and variation, calm and intensity. The title might imply a contemplation of love that is challenged, fragmented, or transformed, capturing the emotional spectrum within close relationships.

Performance and Reception

"Love Divided By" requires the musicians to maintain a delicate balance between individual expression and ensemble cohesion. The subtle, constantly shifting dynamics demand a high degree of sensitivity and responsiveness, as well as excellent control over phrasing and articulation. Each performer must listen carefully to the ensemble, blending and contrasting as needed to convey the music’s nuanced emotional landscape.

Since its premiere, "Love Divided By" has been celebrated for its lyrical, contemplative quality and for showcasing a more personal, intimate side of Philip Glass’s musical language. The work has become a favorite for chamber ensembles looking to explore Glass’s minimalist language in a setting that allows for expressive, emotional depth. Today, "Love Divided By" is appreciated as a thoughtful, introspective piece that invites listeners to engage deeply with the music’s shifting patterns and understated beauty, capturing the complexities of human connection through Glass’s minimalist lens.

Chanting Atmospheres by Monte Weber

"Chanting Atmospheres" by Monte Weber is an evocative soundscape composition that immerses listeners in an ambient world of layered vocal textures, electronic sounds, and atmospheric effects. Known for his innovative use of spatialized sound and interdisciplinary collaboration, Weber crafted this piece to blur the lines between live performance, electronic music, and sound installation.

Overview of the Work

"Chanting Atmospheres" is designed for a combination of live voices, pre-recorded elements, and electronics, all of which are distributed throughout the performance space. The piece creates an immersive, three-dimensional sound experience, with voices and sounds echoing from various directions. Audiences are encouraged to explore the space as they listen, allowing them to experience the work from different perspectives and discover new layers within the sonic environment.

Structure and Form

The composition features a blend of sustained vocal chants, electronic drones, and subtle natural sounds, building gradually over time. The voices are often harmonically rich and extended, creating a sense of timelessness and meditative calm. Weber frequently employs long, sustained tones and overlapping voices, which evolve slowly and almost imperceptibly, encouraging the listener to focus on subtle shifts in timbre, dynamics, and resonance.

Throughout the piece, Weber uses electronics to process and transform the voices, blending organic and synthetic sounds. The result is a dynamic, ever-shifting tapestry of sound where human and electronic elements are almost indistinguishable. This fluid soundscape creates a sense of both intimacy and expansiveness, inviting listeners to lose themselves in the work’s meditative atmosphere.

Inspirations and Themes

Weber was inspired by the concept of chanting as both a ritualistic and communal act, as well as by natural soundscapes, such as wind, water, and birdsong. "Chanting Atmospheres" seeks to evoke a primal connection to sound as a means of personal reflection and communal experience. The piece also explores the boundaries between human and non-human sounds, creating a liminal space where electronic processing allows human voices to resonate like elements of nature.

Performance and Reception

Performing "Chanting Atmospheres" requires a close collaboration between vocalists, sound engineers, and the spatial design team. Weber’s use of spatialization requires careful setup and coordination, as sounds are mapped across the performance area to create a fully immersive experience. Singers must have excellent control over breath, dynamics, and intonation to maintain the long, sustained tones that give the piece its ethereal quality.

"Chanting Atmospheres" has been praised for its capacity to transport listeners and for its use of sound as a transformative experience. Weber’s approach to combining the physical space with sound creates a unique listening environment that feels simultaneously intimate and vast, engaging audiences in an active process of listening. This piece invites audiences to slow down, focus on the subtleties of sound, and experience music as an immersive, almost spiritual journey.

Stay On It by Julius Eastman

"Stay on It" by Julius Eastman is a pioneering work in minimalism that uniquely blends repetitive structures with a spontaneous, improvisatory spirit. Composed in 1973, this piece is an example of Eastman’s distinctive approach to minimalism, which incorporates elements of jazz, pop, and experimental music, making his voice in the genre strikingly original.

Overview of the Work

"Stay on It" is scored for a flexible ensemble, with the exact instrumentation open to the performers’ interpretation. The piece is centered around a simple, repetitive melodic line that the ensemble plays in unison, anchoring the music in a strong rhythmic and harmonic groove. However, unlike many minimalist works, "Stay on It" quickly diverges from strict repetition, embracing unexpected breaks, variations, and rhythmic shifts that give it an exuberant, almost chaotic energy.

Structure and Form

The composition’s core consists of a looping motif, which acts as a musical “hook.” Musicians are directed to “stay on it”—to keep returning to this central motif—but they also have freedom to deviate and improvise around it. These deviations can range from subtle shifts to more radical transformations, often pushing against the stable pattern with syncopation, textural changes, or even sudden silences. This tension between structure and freedom is central to the experience of "Stay on It," giving each performance a unique character.

Inspirations and Influences

Eastman, a Black and openly gay composer, drew on diverse influences, including jazz, gospel, classical, and pop music, creating a fusion that challenged and expanded the boundaries of minimalism. "Stay on It" reflects his desire to bridge the worlds of popular and classical music, and to make minimalism more dynamic and expressive. His use of repetition and groove also hints at African American musical traditions, making the work feel as much like a celebration or a dance as a minimalist composition.

Performance and Reception

Performing "Stay on It" requires a balance between discipline and spontaneity, as musicians must maintain cohesion while allowing room for individual expression. The piece invites interaction among performers, encouraging them to listen closely and respond to each other's choices in real-time. As a result, each rendition of "Stay on It" feels fresh and alive, infused with the personalities of the musicians.

Since its revival in recent years, "Stay on It" has gained recognition as a groundbreaking work that expands the language of minimalism. Its blend of structure and improvisation, along with its joyful energy, reflects Eastman’s belief in music as an inclusive, communal experience. Today, "Stay on It" is celebrated for its vibrant spirit and its challenge to the conventions of both classical and minimalist music, establishing Julius Eastman as a unique and influential voice in 20th-century music.