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Symphony for electronics
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I’ve composed classical music for much of my life, but have constantly grappled with the feeling that it is a music of the past. The Symphony for Electronics is the culmination of my efforts to combine the elements that make classical music so special with the sounds of the modern era.
Each song is modeled after a classical form, drawing mainly upon those used by Bach and Beethoven. The songs on the album are arranged together in the structure of a large symphony, and is intended to be listened as a cohesive piece from start to finish.
However, no acoustic instruments are used. The sonic world of the music is made up entirely of synthesized electronic instruments. These instruments are arranged together in a way that is inspired by a large orchestra. Sampling is used in ways inspired by hip hop, but the only material sampled comes from the last five Beethoven string quartets.
The music and structure is inspired by the concept of struggle – it follows a narrative alternating between moments of anguish and moments of triumph. The album has a symmetrical structure, meaning that the 6th song “stillness” falls directly in the middle, dividing the remaining ten songs into two equally proportionate 5-song sections. They are proportionate both in terms of time, as well as the division of anguish and triumph.
This all culminates in the final song “Arietta”. This song is a strict theme and variations, meaning a chord progression is introduced and all the material afterwards follows this progression, but adds variations above it. The chord progression consists of an 8 bar major “happy” progression, followed by an 8 bar minor “sad” progression. Every single melody from the previous ten songs is reintroduced and combined with each other throughout the Arietta, and with every variation the speed of the note value doubles – growing from steady whole notes in the beginning to 128th notes at the end.
Don’t worry if the analysis above doesn’t make sense or you don’t have a musical background! It is hopefully not at all necessary for the general enjoyment of the music. This album is intended to be accessible to anyone, but it is not necessarily easy listening – and at times probes some dark and uncomfortable places. But, as noted, these are met proportionally with uplifting and inspiring moments.
One final note – many of the songs, particularly in the second half, flow into each other. Due to Bandcamp downloading each song individually, if your service isn’t fast enough there might be a bit of an awkward transition between a couple of the songs. Sorry about that. I hope you enjoy!