Ecuatorial
Ecuatorial is an orchestral work by Edgar Varèse . The work, composed between 1932 and 1934, based on texts from the book Popol Vuh der Maya, is composed for bass or unison choir, eight brass instruments, piano, organ, two theremin or Ondes Martenot and six percussion instruments.
While in this phase of his work Varèse was otherwise trying to express the sound experience of the modern urban jungle , Ecuatorial was supposed to evoke a real South American jungle with its disturbing animal and bird noises. Even this, however, is not uninfluenced by people - the birds sound unnatural, drums are a constant reminder of human presence, just as the choir and the words it sings make clear the human presence in Varès' musical jungle.
The piece begins with a short piano opening, which is followed by a blaring trumpet. This is followed by bursts of noise from drums, brass and organ as well as quiet moments in which Ondes Martenot, piano and block of wood occur. The choir sings, speaks, whispers and screams, especially in low voices. The text he reads is an adaptation of Popol Vuh by the Guatemalan poet Miguel Asturias .
Varèse originally wrote the work for two theremins with fingerboards ( theremincellos ). After it turned out to be difficult to find the instruments at later performances, he rewrote it for two Ondes Martenot. Until 1954, Ecuatorial was the last work that Varèse composed.
The work became known to a new audience in 1988 when Woody Allen used it in a prominent place in his film Another Woman .
Remarks
- ↑ Barbara Meister: Music musique: French & American Piano Composition in the Jazz Age , Indiana University Press 2006 ISBN 0253346088 , p. 123
- ↑ Barbara Meister: Music musique: French & American Piano Composition in the Jazz Age , Indiana University Press 2006 ISBN 0253346088 , p. 124
- ↑ Chris Salter, Peter Sellars: Entangled: Technology and the Transformation of Performance , MIT Press 2010 ISBN 0262195887 , p. 189
- ↑ Adam Harvey, Dick Hyman: The soundtracks of Woody Allen: a Complete Guide to the Songs and Music in Every Film, 1969-2005 McFarland 2007 ISBN 0786429682 , p. 92