The First Emperor

[from Wikimedia Commons]






Yesterday I saw the Metropolitan Opera's First Emperor by Tan Dun at a movie theater.

Since I am a Techno Geek as well as a Music Geek, this was just pure heaven. I've never seen an opera at the Met although I've taken the backstage tour when I was in NYC. In someways I have to admit that I found the experience even better than going to a real opera house. If for nothing else I didn't have to get all dressed up and spend a fortune on the tickets. Granted, at $18 a pop, this is more expensive than your normal movie, but that's OK.

The opera was great! I had read reviews of the opera complaining that the mix of the strong rhythmic and dissonant orchestral and choral sections did not integrate well with the Pucciniesque writing for Domingo. I have to strongly disagree. It was this juxtaposition that made the opera work for me.

The opera is based on Emperor Qin, the first emperor of China. It tells an emotional story in which Qin puts the state above all else, including love and friendship. It is the perfect subject matter for a grand opera and Dun's score as well as the performance was completely up to the task. Wikipedia has an article on the opera.

The whole experience even had my favorite beloved Grandma of Grand Opera, Beverly Sills! And like talking with your Grandma I had to chuckle when she mistakenly referred to Beckham, the soccer play, as a hockey player when speaking with Domingo. But that's OK.

The theater was sold out. There is a hunger for artistic experiences across the nation and hopefully this proves it. Well done Peter Gelb!!!!

Have a listen...

Here is a mp3 file of the current Wisdom is Glorious. I want to play around a bit more with the orchestration, but this is the workshop. So, this is a work-in-progress.

Wisdom is Glorious

I'm starting to take a look at some compositions I've written a while back. One of them is Wisdom is Glorious from 1994. This is based on the following text from the Wisdom of Solomon in the Apocrypha:

Chapter 6: 12-15

Wisdom is glorious,
and never fadeth away:
yea, she is easily seen of them that love her,
and found of such as seek her.

She preventeth them that desire her,
in making herself first known unto them.

Whoso seeketh her early shall have no great travail:
for he shall find her sitting at his doors.

To think therefore upon her is perfection of wisdom:
and whoso watcheth for her shall quickly be without care.

This translation is from the Non-canonical Books of the Bible of the King James Version.

It was written for soprano and organ. I'm not very happy with the way I set the text of the piece. I really did not understand much about scansion when I wrote this. I think it is a pity that during my compositional education I never had a class in that. It wasn't until much later that I was able to take a workshop (via the Nautilus Music-Theater with Ben Krywosz and Tom Linker) where such useful knowledge finally found a home in this thick skull of mine.

What I do like about this piece is that I was able to write a dance-like rhythm using asymmetrical rhythms. (Bartok was a down right revelation when I first heard such music in college.) I want to explore that a bit more and then release it to the web.

Coming to the workshop

My dad taught wood shop for many years. Whether I would help him in his workshop at home or come with him out to his school workshop, it was always fun. I loved seeing how things were put together. Although my family was a family of carpenters in the "old country", I did not inherit the talent with putting together things with wood. I found my outlet for such things first in electronics, then computers, and finally music.

With this blog I want to return to the workshop. My workshop is for writing music. I have always found that the craftsman approach to writing compositions works best for me. This is a place for talking about ideas out loud and shooting the breeze with whoever happens by and asks "what's that you're building?"