Like
Steve Reich’s WTC 911 that we looked
at last time, John Adams also received a commission to write a commemorative
piece. We had the pleasure of chatting with Mr. Adams when he was in town this
past spring and he talked with us about his On
the Transmigration of Souls.
Adams
admitted to us that, when the New York Philharmonic approached him with the
commission to write a commemorative piece for the first anniversary of 9/11, he
was appalled. He believed it was
impossible to write a piece of music about this type of event that created such
a wound for the American nation. He explained that he initially felt it would
either come across as tasteless or opportunistic to approach this type of
project as an artist. After some thought, however, he realized that a serious
composer ought to be able to respond to a national trauma so he accepted the
commission.
Composer
Charles Ives has been somewhat of a guardian angel to Adams, who talked about
how his transcendental philosophy about the American spirit guided his work for
On the Transmigration of Souls. His
piece is very intimate, touching on personal loss and private emotions. Like
Reich’s WTC 911, On the Transmigration of Souls uses the orchestra more as a
background while choirs and taped voices take center stage. Texts included on
the tape relate to 9/11 and contain a reading of names of many who died, as
well as excerpts from notes that loved ones taped to Manhattan walls following
the event.
Is
there a commemorative work for 9/11 that you tend to relate to?
