Wherefore Art Thou, “In C”?

So here I am, continuing to neglect my mission of celebrating “In C”, and instead, getting caught up in what the co-creative energy of the Universe keeps tossing to me. There are other recordings of “In C” that I want to talk about here, including one by the Salt Lake Electric Ensemble which forgoes the pulse. (Yayy!) And I must confess that the 12 hour version of “In C” is no where in sight.(Might not happen, crap!) At the moment my own work is taking focus. First, I reworked the central theme from last year’s 250 Degree show with Libby Lynn. The piece is called Shadowdoubt and I wanted to submit it to a filmmaker looking for a noirish, ambient, jazz-like soundtrack. I am listed on several music distribution sites and this is the first project that has come up that I had something for.

Shadowdoubt was a part of the soundscape created for Libby’s show of new encaustic art last November at The Carrack Gallery of Fine Art in Durham. Encaustic is done with a medium made from beeswax, so bees figured prominently in the show. Matthew Yearout, a local artist and beekeeper, created an indoor hive that was on display during the run of the show. Recordings from “inside the beehive” became a sound installation that accompanied the visuals of the hive. Bee buzzes were a prime audio source for the sonic character of the soundscape. While I was shaping the sound of bees buzzing, the sounds of torches and scraping of the wax that encaustic art entails, this moody, tense, romantic theme emerged in the middle of the whole thing. I loved it! I felt then that this piece would stand on its own, outside the soundscape.

In order to prepare the piece for submission as a soundtrack, the voicings needed to change. For Hot Wax/Shadowdoubt/Bee Synthony, the sonic character was buzzy and pinched. Electric guitars, bees and hiss predominated the mix. When performing the soundscape at the opening, this buzzy sound hovered over the conversations in the room creating what I would call “undertones” throughout the Carrack Gallery. Several people told me they heard chanting and choruses of voices during the piece. In order to become a soundtrack, Shadowdoubt needed to soften; the buzz needed to be killed. So I pulled one edgy synth voice out, replaced the guitar with vibes (smile) and took the clanging bell feature into the background. I resisted the urge to eliminate it entirely.

The trick with a soundtrack is finding a emotional congruence with what is happening on the screen AND remaining in the background. The music needs be present but not TOO present. A soundtrack is like a good supporting player; it steps up at key moments, then retires, and remains in the background always adding to the emotional throughline. After reworking the piece for several days. I got it to a place where it could work as a soundtrack.

I went to the website for the film and looked at the trailer. The film is about an unsolved fire bombing of a gay bar in New Orleans in 1973. The trailer was clips of interviews and photo montages from the scene. Survivors and friends of those who died are interviewed. The music accompanying the trailer was dramatic, fast paced runs of violins, violas. The music was competely disconnected from what was being said and felt very “Muzak” to me- background music for the sake of background music. I could hear some of the sections of Shadowdoubt bringing emotional tenor to several of interviews. Here is what I submitted:

 

Shadowdoubt may have too much presence to function as a soundtrack, but there were moments during some of the interviews that I could hear those melancholy horns swell up. If this isn’t a good fit for this particular documentary, there is another film project that I could submit to. The description of the film sounds a bit too upbeat for the flavor of Shadowdoubt, but maybe some other tune would work.

Ooops, this just in: the filmmaker found that Shadowdoubt “did not quite fit the continuity of the film.” Ah, well- we will take a look at the other one.

In addition to the film track, Jody Cassell and I created a one hour sound and movement experience for the International Day of Peace on Sunday, September 21 (the Fall Equinox) at ADF Studios. It was a lovely hour with lots of appreciations all around for the grounding and healing and peace that was generated. Jody and I will be presenting movement classes for adults, and classes for several local grade schools with a focus on health and well-being. Here is a link to more information about the adult series: (you may have to cut and paste in your browser)

http://www.americandancefestival.org/events/embracing-health-through-movement/

And, as for “In C,” I still love the piece and it is still turning 50 in November. I plan to make some forays into the community to celebrate by playing bits and parts of some of the voicings for “In C.” Perhaps that is the way to celebrate the piece — never play it in it’s entirety, only in slices and sets. I plan to play all the long tones at a gig with TJ Goode at Open Eye Cafe the end of October. I will keep you posted. I am not finished with “In C” yet!!