If Beethoven,Bach, and Bartok were
around in the late twentieth century, they would have used the
fashionable instruments of the day,and reflected the world around
them in sound? I would have loved to see what Bach could have come up with
when confronted with a Modular Moog system for example. Also of
course they would have had to live their lives as a 20th
century person,to absorb all the influences ,sophistications and
neuroses of late modern man.
It would,of course , now read as
Beethoven, Bach,Bartok and Branca. A kind of Crosby,Stills, Nash and
Young of the neo-classical,except without the cocaine fuelled
blandness of those Laurel Canyon numpties.
Branca,is a true modern
classicist,using the symbolic instrumentation of his age,
electricity,guitars and the drum kit, to recreate the dissonant noise
of the city. The constant drone of the traffic,the rhythmic noise of
the production line, and the Doppler effect of passing sirens. There
are sequences that recreate the paranoia and fear of the Cold War era
in which this was written, as massed electric guitars sound like a
thousand approaching planes and missiles raining warheads on a doomed
civilisation; if civilisation applies to what humanity has created
for itself?
Symphony Number One,is the best Branca
symphony in my humble opinion,featuring all his old chums, Lee Renaldo,Thurston Moore,Barbara Ess,and Wharton Teirs. It retains the excitement of his early
work, holding onto the urgency of its rock roots,without becoming
indulgent,as happens in later works. Also,its Lo-Fi recording quality
adds to the authenticity of genuine classical music that has its
roots on the streets rather than some stuffy conservatoire in
Salzburg.
Notes:
Music in four movements for multiple guitars,
keyboards, brass and percussion. This is a live set originally recorded
July 18-19, 1981 at the Performing Garage, 33 Wooster Street, Soho,
NYC.
Tracklist:
| A1 |
Movement 1 |
11:45
|
| A2 |
Movement 2 |
15:45
|
| B1 |
Movement 3 |
17:29
|
| B2 |
Movement 4 |
10:09 |
or