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PHILHARMONIA FANTASTIQUE
The Making of the Orchestra
Instrumentation
3 flutes (2nd doubles picc and alto flute, 3rd doubles picc)
2 oboes
3 clarinets (2nd doubles E-flat clarinet)
2 bassoons
1 contra bassoon
4 horns in F
3 trumpets in C
2 trombones
bass trombone tuba
3 or 4 percussionists*
Glockenspiel, crotales, woodblocks, castanets, Djembe, bass drum, Tam-tam, finger cymbals, marimba, snare drum, suspended cymbal, vibraphone, triangle, hi-hat, field drum, crash cymbals, tom-toms, tambourine, floor tom, police whistle, large broom, Rute (flexible switches on wood,) and Congas timpani
Piano (doubling celesta) Harp
laptop
(when performed without film)
Strings
This symphony is intended to be performed in concer t with the animated film Philharmonia Fantastique, which was created with director Gary Rydstrom and animation director Jim Capobianco. It requires the same projection equipment, click track, and general technical setup as 'films in concert' performances, and more information can be found at contact: info@aphramusic.com or visit masonbates.com/philharmonia -fantastique.
The music can also be performed without the visual component, r equiring only 2 high -quality stereo speakers, a subwoofer, 5-6 onstage monitors, and a laptop operator (ie, percussionist or assistant conductor – requires no special expertise.)
Credits music by Mason Bates
animation direction by Jim Capobianco
written by Mason Bates & Gary Rydstrom
Produced by Alex D. da Silva & Mason Bates
Directed by Gary Rydstrom
An orchestra tunes – and immediately, a sense of anticipation and wonder ripples through the room. As this super-instrument brings its marvels of engineering together into a single pitch, we are witnessing both art and science. The same orchestra that explores our emotional depths is also our finest example of interactive technology.
The ‘making of the orchestra’ that has occurred over centuries continues into the present day with Philharmonia Fantastique , a concerto for orchestra and animated film. Only recently in its spectacular evolutionary history has the orchestra incorporated digital sounds and projection screens, offering the perfect m edium for a kinetic exploration of musical instruments and how they work. Guided by a mercurial Sprite, we fly inside a flute to see its keys up close; jump on a viola string to activate the harmonic series; and zip through a trumpet as its valves slice shafts of air.
Inspired by a desire to offer my own kids a fresh guide to the orchestra, the piece was created with director Gary Rydstrom and animator Jim Capobianco during visits to Skywalker Ranch, George Lucas’s campus of creativity north of San Francisco. With their extensive film experience – Gary won Oscars for his dinosaur sounds in for Jurassic Park , Jim wrote the story for Pixar’s Ratatouille – they helped solve many of the film’s unique puzzles: namely, how to introduce the many facets of the orchestra without using words. Sometimes accompanying me to the Ranch were my kids and a posse of their friends, playing the role of a slightly suspicious focus group. They responded best to an exuberant piece of art, not a didactic piece of pedagogy, that has elements of mystery and darkness. Equally important is the Sprite, whose journey of self-discovery brings a crucial emotional angle to the story. The Sprite is formed in the work’s opening minutes from a primordial soup of abstract animation, with its arms and legs representing the four ‘families’ of the orchestra: woodwinds, strings, brass, percussion. Represented by a simple yet harmonically wandering piano melody, the Sprite soon dives into the orchestra to explore the instruments from the inside out.
Each family speaks its unique language: noir-ish jazz for the woodwinds; bending lyricism in the strings; dark techno for the brass; and drum-corps in the percussion. Having presented themselves separately, their attempt to play together fails so spectacularly that the Sprite shatters back into the primordial darkness. Only through learning each other’s languages do the different instrument families – as different as the races on earth – fuse together to resurrect the Sprite and become The Orchestra, one of the greatest human creations.
SPEAKER PLACEMENT
Mason Bates • Aphra Music
• 2 high-quality stereo speakers + subwoofer
-with at least 12” woofer for decent bass response (15” is ideal for fu# range)
- place on le% & right sides of stage, either upstage (preferred) or downstage … sub goes anywhere
- to best integrate the electronic sounds with the orchestra, please do not use ‘flown’ house speakers
• onstage monitors for the conductor
- conductor’s monitor should be on a sma# stand at podium level & should have a volume knob
- this is in addition to the click track the conductor & musicians use
• an in-house sound engineer (not backstage) (left house speakers (+ sub) mounted high on stands (right)
conductor's ‘hotspot’ (alternate downstage (on stand, with volume knob, plus (alternate downstage speaker placement) additional monitors for strings speaker placement) (audience)
NOTES
• It is important for the electronic part to be projected in stereo.
-Before the first rehearsal, check to make sure that the left and right speakers are correctly receiving the left and right channels.
• If using the ‘upstage’ speaker placement (preferred), be sure they are mounted high on stands.
-A high placement (on stands, not ‘flown’) projects the sound over the orchestra into the house.
-You may need to boost higher frequencies so electronic part is has enough ‘presence’ in the house.
-When it is not possible to place speakers behind orchestra, use the ‘downstage placement’ diagram.
• Onstage monitors are needed regardless of speaker placement.
-The house speakers, even when placed behind the orchestra, are not sufficient. Always use 5-6 onstage monitors.
• It is important for the conductor’s monitor to be sma!, to be on a stand, & to have a volume knob.
-The conductor should never have to go through the sound guy to change his monitor level.
• During the rehearsals and the performance, mix from the hall and adjust volume as necessary.
-The electronics are ‘pre-mixed’ but acoustic differences between halls make some adjustments necessary
- For a reference recording of the piece, in order to get an idea of the mix, please email INFO@APHRAMUSIC.COM
Percussion
Percussion Percussion
PHILHARMONIA FANTASTIQUE
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The Percussion
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