Music history: developments, movements, and cultural contexts

Music History

An Idyll for the Misbegotten (Images III): George Crumb (b.1929)

The many apparent allusions to other works in the words and melodies of this piece caused me to seek out what inspired it. According to composer George Crumb, the works of environmentalists inspired his "idyll" or postmodern pastoral (Idyll, Arts of the States, 2009). This work is alternately energetic and desolate, with sharp shifts in tempo, as if one is wandering on a long walk, gazing at varied scenery. The work is a pastiche of sounds and phrases, all of which, Crumb hopes, will move the listener to take greater care of the earth "Over a slow bass drum tremolo, the flute begins its haunting melody, which over the course of the piece includes quotations of Claude Debussy's solo flute piece Syrinx and spoken verse by the eighth-century Chinese poet Ssu-K'ung Shu: 'The moon goes down. There are shivering birds and withering grasses'" (Idyll, Arts of the States, 2009). Crumb says that he wrote his work to inspire others to care more for the environment -- it is both a celebration and a warning, hence its use of so many different moods and sources. Learning about what inspired the work made me appreciate Idyll much more as a listener.

Rumba (Columbia, Guaguanco): Traditional

A rumba is a traditionally propulsive form of Latin dance music. Listening to a rumba makes the listener want to dance, given the way that the percussive rhythms drive the music forward. There are no really slow dynamics or pauses -- the music seems so fast it can hardly give the dancers time to breathe or think, as it exhibits a tempo that is more athletic than dance-like.

Although this traditional melody is foreign it sounds the most familiar my ear of all of the musical works, not simply because the rumba's 6/8 rhythm is familiar, but because it was designed to be a kind of popular dance music, not designed intellectually to make the listener think differently about the world. The accessible sounds of the beats are meant to be enjoyed by all.

Third Construction (1941): John Cage (1912-1992)

Although a relatively contemporary piece, this work sounds almost primitive, as if it is played on traditional wooden, handmade instruments. It sounds 'constructed' -- perhaps that is why Cage calls it a construction, not a movement, as if it is still a work in progress. Alternating rhythm patterns assault the ears, dissonant and harsh at times, at other times seducing the listener with complementary and more consonant beats.

ExitiX Novum (2007): Peter Saleh (b.1977)

A strangely musical percussion arrangement. The work is a collage of percussion instruments and alternating rhythms that still manage to sound musical and uncluttered. There is an almost exotic and otherworldly tone, despite the featuring of familiar instruments such as snare drums and tympanis.

Dressur (1976/1977): Mauricio Kagel (1931-2008)