RNY 1142 - David Lang - Symphony for Broken Instruments

david lang

symphony for broken instruments

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for an orchestra of broken instruments

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program note In 2016 I got an amazing phone call, out of the blue, from Robert Blackson, who runs the contemporary art gallery at Temple University. He told me that he had somehow – miraculously – gotten access to all the broken instruments in the Philadelphia public school system, and he asked if I had any interest in writing something for them. In fact, I did!

Robert didn’t know it, but my first thought about these instruments was autobiographical. I am only a musician because there were robust music programs in the public schools that I attended as a child – a public school music education is why I am a composer today. My first thought was that 1500 broken musical instruments meant 1500 missed opportunities to change school children’s lives, the way my life had been changed.

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My second thought was that since 2014 I have been writing a kind of community music and that this project might be a good way continue my interest in using music to build a better world. In 2014, I wrote a piece called crowd out, for 1000 people yelling and singing. Commissioned by presenters in London, Birmingham (UK) and Berlin, it was based on the kind of singing I had heard in a London soccer match. the public domain, from 2016, is a kinder and gentler sequel, commissioned by Lincoln Center and three European presenters for 1000 amateur voices. What I hoped to do in these pieces was to give untrained and lesser trained performers the chance to do what our most trained and sophisticated performers do all the time – to work really hard together, to solve a tough musical problem together, to make something beautiful together.

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I have tried to do the same thing in symphony for broken instruments. For the premiere, our ensemble had a range of everyone in the city – from school children just learning how to play to amateurs to future professionals to members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. People from all across the city, coming together, making music. It was a beautiful sight.

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staging note

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Of course, in this piece, one of the problems these musicians come together to solve is that their instruments don’t work as they are expected to. Some are barely changed, some are just more complicated to play, and some are now incapable of doing what they were designed for. Part of each player’s job is learning what each instrument can and cannot do, and then adapting himself or herself to it. These instruments, like the people who play them, are unique, extraordinary. It is a joy to work with them.

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For the premiere I wanted to make sure that nothing came between the listeners and the musicians, so I arranged the players into little mini-orchestras that were grouped in a circle around the audience. The audience was facing outwards, towards the players, and the conductor was in the center, behind the audience. That way the players could see the conductor but the audience couldn’t, and it made it possible for the audience to have a clear view of the amazing instruments and players, without a conductor getting in their way.

symphony for broken instruments was commissioned by Temple Contemporary, Robert Blackson, Director of Exhibitions, with support from the Pew Center for the Arts and Heritage. the duration is variable, but ideally symphony for broken instruments should last between 30 and 40 minutes.

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symphony for broken instruments music by david lang

1. mysterious and environmental

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conductor cues groups to tap on the bodies of their instruments. lightly, mysteriously, with an irregular and unpredictable rhythm. groups enter individually, as cued. conductor may start and stop groups at will.

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when all groups are tapping the conductor cues individual groups to crescendo and decrescendo, one at a time. groups that are not cued should remain tapping quietly.

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2. the introduction of pitch

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conductor signals all players to crescendo and decrescendo together, becoming wild and loud.

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conductor brings tapping down to low volume and signals all string instruments to begin pizzicato, cuing first one note as indicated below, then two notes, then three notes then 4 notes.

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(strings: pizz. in any octave)

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notes may be in any octave. all pizzicati should be, like the tapping, light, mysterious, with an irregular and unpredictable rhythm, with random repetition, orders and groupings. all other instruments continue tapping, as before. conductor cues individual groups to crescendo and decrescendo, one at a time. groups that are not cued should remain tapping and pizzicatoing quietly. conductor signals all players to crescendo and decrescendo together, becoming wild and loud.

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3. the introduction of the woodwinds tapping and pizzicato remain loud and irregular. conductor cues woodwinds to begin tune below, as follows: conductor cues the woodwind players in a single group to play the first note, entering quietly and delicately. groups are cued separately. when the woodwinds in all groups are playing the first note the conductor cues a single group to move on to the second note, then gradually changes all groups to the second note, before moving on to the third, etc. (woodwinds: in any octave, breathe as needed)

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conductor should vary the rate at which new notes enter – the first should take a long time but after that the entry of each note may be exaggeratedly and unpredictably different.

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woodwinds should hold each note as long as possible, and should breathe and re-enter quietly, as needed. strings, brass and percussion continue tapping as before.

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4. unstable chorale

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when all woodwinds are holding the last f, conductor cues all players capable of playing pitches in a single group to play the first dyad indicated below, entering quietly and delicately. strings switch to arco. players may play either note, in any octave. as before, groups are cued separately - when all the players in all groups are playing the first dyad the conductor cues a single group to move on to the second dyad, then gradually changes all groups to the second note, before moving on to the third, etc. (tutti: in any octave, breathe or change bow as needed)

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as before, conductor should vary the rate at which new dyads enter – the first should take a long time but after that the entry of each dyad may be exaggeratedly and unpredictably different. as before, players should hold each note as long as possible, and should breathe or change bow and re-enter, as needed. with each breath or bow change players should switch notes in the dyad. players should start getting wilder when they get to the second line of the chorale, with unpredictable starts and stops, tremolos, crescendo, etc. conductor holds RNY 1142

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the triad at the end for a long time, and all instruments crescendo, as wild and loud as possible. non-pitched percussion should rest when pitched instruments in each group begin the chorale.

5. mysterious again, for a short while tutti - conductor cuts off the previous chord, at its wildest and loudest moment, and all players—including non-pitched percussion—immediately switch to the tapping from section 1, as quietly as possible.

6. call and response 1 – pitched and loud

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conductor cues each group separately to move on. groups continue call and response until cued.

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when cued by the conductor, each concertmaster gets up and faces his or her group. he or she plays the phrases below first, in any order, loudly and forcefully, and in any octave, and the group members then play in response. the written phrase is merely a suggestion—the concertmaster should vary wildly the speed, rhythm, pitch and grouping of each phrase, and the group members should do their best to respond with the same wild speed and rhythm.

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responses are individual - group members should not try to time or coordinate the rhythm of their responses with their fellow group members, but should make their individual responses as independent as possible.

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(call and response, in any octave)

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j j j j & bœ œ œ ≈ bœ œ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ Ó

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7. punching chords conductor cues each group separately to move on. groups continue call and response until cued. concertmasters should sit down as his or her group is cued. when cued by the conductor, each group plays together short, sharp, accented notes. these notes are taken from the scale below and may be played in any octave. players should try to play a different pitch from the scale with each attack. conductor should vary the frequency and rhythm of the attacks, making the entrance of each chord unpredictable. at conductor’s discretion, chords may be unpredictably loud or soft, short or long; in general, however, when all players are playing the chord the sound should be mostly dramatic and full.

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œ œ bœ bœ bœ b œ b œ œ bœ

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(choose one note for each accented chord)

8. call and response 2 – unpitched and soft

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tutti – conductor signals all concertmasters to get up and face his or her group. as before, he or she plays the following phrases, varying the rhythm, speed and groupings of each phrase, and group members try to answer together. this time, however, it is all quiet and delicate, and there are no specified pitches. concertmasters must choose new pitches or unpitched sounds for each phrase and should try to change the pitch or sound with each repeat. (call and response, follow your concertmaster)

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9. tune conductor cues each group separately to move on. groups continue call and response until cued. non-pitched percussion should play the downbeat of every measure. concertmasters should sit down as his or her group is cued. when cued by the conductor each group plays part 1 of the tune below, quietly and gently, in any octave, repeating until all players are playing it together. part 1

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gently q = 72 (with the conductor, in any octave)

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part 2

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gently q = 72 (with the conductor, in any octave)

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when all players are playing part 1 of the tune the conductor signals for everyone to move on to part 2. part 2 is exactly like part 1 only some instruments move from the faster moving line to the slower moving line. repeat as desired. conductor may feel free to shape and phrase at will. repeat as desired.

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10. coda

tutti – conductor cuts off the tune, and after a moment’s silence the conductor signals all instruments to enter on the chord below. this chord should be played quietly, delicately, and held for at least a minute. players should feel free to breathe and change bows as needed. when players reenter they are encouraged to change to a different note in the chord, at all times reentering quietly and delicately. players may play notes in any octave but any instrument that is capable of playing the g in the bass is encouraged to do so. after at least a minute the conductor signals all to fade out, individually, until there are no players left playing.

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end RNY 1142

rk Yo ew N or di ic R by ht ig yr op C © 2017 by Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.

RNY 1142 ISMN 979-0-041-61142-6 Warning : Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited by Federal law, and subject to criminal prosecution.