Birtwistle Games - Philarmonia Orchestra
Birtwistle Games - Philarmonia Orchestra
Birtwistle Games - Philarmonia Orchestra
GCSE/ A-Level
Index
• Welcome!
• The Philharmonia Orchestra
• The Philharmonia Orchestra Community & Education
Programme
• Introduction
• What is Contemporary Music?
• Birtwistle’s Style
• Discussion
• Listening Exercises
• How to compose like Birtwistle
• The Concert
• A Player’s View
• Further Information
- Birtwistle Games: CD Index
- Further Reading
- Harrison Birtwistle: A Timeline of Compositions
- The musical team & contact details
The pack is intended for GCSE and A-level use, and will help to
underpin any work on Twentieth-Century music that these courses
contain by examining some of the reasons for this style of art music
and encouraging students to evaluate its effectiveness. The pack
contains material that can be used for the three areas of the national
curriculum: performance, composition and listening/evaluation.
We aim to:
• Create and develop an interest in, and enjoyment of music in people of all
ages, abilities and backgrounds
• Contribute to the process of music education for people within and outside
the formal education sector, whatever their abilities and background
• Make the recourse of the Philharmonia Orchestra – its players and
concerts – available and accessible to the widest possible section of the
population
We do this by:
• Creating a programme of projects and events where priority is given to the
quality of the experience for everyone involved
• Collaborating with artists and organisations, in places and regions specific
to the Philharmonia Orchestra
• Linking our work directly with that of the Philharmonia Orchestra by taking
inspiration from its concerts programme and giving musicians a key role in
planning and implementing projects
Harrison Birtwistle
Photo by Hanya Chlala
This uncompromising quality is typical of Birtwistle; he follows his own
compositional ideas without ‘simplifying’ them for the listener. When asked
how he thought people listened to his music, he replied ‘I should think they
find it horribly difficult. That’s their problem, not mine.’ (Warburton
1995/2002)
Nonetheless, many (most?) would say his music is difficult, and it has been
pointed out that ‘there is an important element of Birtwistle’s music that falls
altogether outside the realm of the communicative and the meant … This is
felt as much by his advocates as by his opponents’ (Cross p196). Here is a
composer who seems to go out of his way to write music that does not
ingratiate itself with the listener, and as a result he has received both acclaim
and vitriol.
There are parallels with the fine arts, which have gone through a similar
period of ‘modernist’ turmoil, but are now accepted by the general public.
Picasso’s and Salvador Dali’s works are now commonplace, as are such
initially terrifying visions as Munch’s The Scream. Works by these painters,
which were shocking, can all be brought as posters and postcards in the high
street. Some are very powerful: Picasso’s Guernica, a work depicting the
horror of war, hangs in the United Nations, as a reminder to those countries
who wish to war-monger. It was covered when Colin Powell, Secretary of
State for the United States, addressed the assembly trying to convince them
to pass the resolution allowing the United Nations permission to invade Iraq.
The influence of initially radical artists can be seen in design and advertising;
for instance the London Underground map is influenced by the coloured
straight lines of the artist Mondrian. So what about contemporary music?
Everyone has heard far more contemporary music than they realise.
Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, depicting violent pagan rituals eventually
ending in ritual sacrifice, caused a riot at its first performance. Extracts from it
are now regularly used on television documentaries about war. The piece is
now a much loved (and very exciting!) concert work, but what of ‘harder’
modernist music? Some concert pieces have been used in films, and many
other films exploit modernist features on their soundtrack. The Hungarian
composer Gyorgy Ligeti’s Requiem and Lux Aeterna were used by Stanley
Kubrick in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, and David Lynch has used works
by Krystoff Penderecki. These might be considered ‘art house’ films, but
other, more popular films, such as Alien, use modernist music on their
soundtracks. Even the animated cartoon Pingu sometimes uses a dissonant,
modernist music in the background.
Audiences hear this music without complaint during a film. So why does
contemporary music face such resistance in the concert hall?
Expressionism
One of the first forays into modernism was by Arnold Schoenberg (1874-
1951). He decided that the system of musical organisation called tonality
(keys, etc.) had been so compromised by some composers in the 19th century
that it would be better to not use it at all. Instead he proposed avoiding
sounds which would create a sense of key: triads, for instance. Instead, he
concentrated on using dissonant combinations of sounds (eg. sevenths and
seconds). As there was no harmony to combine the various elements
together at any single moment, he was able to, quite freely, create rich,
contrapuntal textures, without worrying about each line fitting with one
another.
Over the last century, musical modernism has changed a great deal, and
though some of it is now loved by audiences, there is still a lot of music that
makes them uncomfortable. Perhaps this is the point: modernist music is not
meant to be easy, it is meant to be a challenge, because through overcoming
challenges we learn and grow as human beings.
Birtwistle’s Style
By listening we can hear four basic elements in Birtwistle’s music.
Melody: often made of quite long notes
Often these elements merge into one another: speed up a melody and it can
become a gesture; repeat a gesture, and it becomes an ostinato; punctuation
could be seen as playing all the notes in a gesture simultaneously; gestures
can be incorporated into a melodic line.
Track 3 is an extract from Earth Dances which you will hear in the
Philharmonia concert. Which of the four basic elements predominates in this
extract? Which instruments play the various elements? How does layering
work in the extract?
Discussion
“The chap who does the garden said he wanted to hear some of my music. I
said only on condition that you set aside half an hour, put the thing on fairly
loudly and sit down and listen to it today and tomorrow. That’s all that’s
required. I felt I had to lay down the law a bit. Most people have forgotten
what music is. Music is not really for listening any more.’” Birtwistle
Has listening to the extracts been a comfortable musical experience for you?
Has it become more comfortable as you’ve heard more? Thinking about
some of origins of modernist music (eg. expressionism), do you think
Birtwistle intends the music to create a comfortable or uncomfortable
experience? Should music and the arts create comfortable experiences, or
should they provoke a reaction from the audience? Does this music provoke
an emotional reaction from you?
When asked how he thought people listened to his music, Birtwistle said ‘I
should think they find it horribly difficult. That’s their problem, not mine.’
What do you think of this statement?
‘If the piece sounds like a dissonant cacophony, that’s what it is’
‘It excludes in its language just about everything music lovers value’
‘Even pop music is going down the same road – from exuberant naivety
through a more refined and expansive maturity, to a brutal confrontational
nihilism based on easily-aquired, computer-based technology, shear brute
wattage and hyper- (not to say hyped) expressionism’
(Taken from Hellewell, David The hecklers are right about the musical avant-
garde)
Are these statements fair, or do they miss the point of Birtwistle’s and other
modernist composers’ music? (If you’re listening for traditional melodies, you
will be disappointed, so listen for layers of melody, punctuation, gesture, etc.,
instead).
Birtwistle is very interested in art, and produces his own pen and ink
drawings, some of which you will see in this pack. By using lines to represent
musical shapes, we’ll discover more about Birtwistle’s music.
Listen to the extract from Birtwistle’s Panic (track 8). As you listen write down
three adjectives which might describe the music’s character*.
The piece has two soloists, a saxophone and a drum kit (though you might not
guess the latter!). By listening carefully to the saxophone, we are going to
discover how the music is constructed.
0” – 27”
The saxophone is playing a melody. Is it made of long or short notes? Does
it keep coming back to the same note? Make a line which shows the
melody’s shape. It would start off looking something like this (which is 0” –
13”).
Other instruments are playing very different kinds of music around the
saxophone. Try and describe what these instruments are doing:
Woodwind
Piccolo and Trumpet
Drums
Lower Brass (trombone and tuba) – these enter towards the end of the extract
Can you create your own graphic for each of them. (Would any of the shapes
below be suitable for some of the music? What do you think?)
Add your chosen shapes to the saxophone line to produce a graphic score for
this section.
After 27’’ the music reaches a climax, which is followed by a passage (34’’-
39’’) which might look like this:
Who plays this, and how many times is it repeated? Does it feel more or less
energetic than the previous section?
From 1’07’’ – 1’17’’ the music turns into an ostinato (a repeated figure) for
saxophone and drum kit. Draw the shape of the saxophone figure. Is this
section more or less energetic than the previous one?
For a few seconds there is a moment of repose before the energy returns.
The rest of the extract is a duet between orchestral instruments and the solo
saxophone. Are these two lines related, or are they always in opposition? Do
they share any distinctive shapes?
The drums are also playing here – what are they doing?
Having listened to the extract, discussed the musical elements, and perhaps
discovered some new vocabulary, look again at the descriptive words that you
started with. Are they appropriate? Are they the whole story? As a group,
use them to write a paragraph describing the extract in both technical and
emotional terms.
*There’s a word list at the end of the pack which teachers can use as a
prompt. *
Exercise 2
Track 1 is an extract from Silbury Air and is much more subdued than Panic.
Birtwistle’s fascination with rhythm can be heard very clearly in it.
The aim of this game is for players to create a short piece of music which
gives participants a feel for using Birtwistle-like musical elements in a piece.
As you can see from the above statement, Birtwistle dislikes the idea of
logically ordered ideas, and tries to break these up to create something
irregular and unexpected. By working in small groups, which play
simultaneously to create musical layers, we’ll create something with this
unexpected effect.
Stage 1
In groups of 4-5 create the following, using what you have already heard of
Birtwistle’s music as a model:
• A long melody containing 8-12 notes. Choose 8-12 pitches which
create an interesting musical shape. Give each of them a number from
10-20, which will be the number of beats the note lasts. Set a fairly
slow pulse which will make the melody last about 30 seconds. Practice
playing the melody. Draw a graphic outline of the melody.
• Two punctuating chords. Without consultation, all the members of the
group choose a note. On a cue, play them together, as a short, loud
jab. Do this several times to find two different chords that you can
remember as a group – preferably avoiding consonant sounds.
Practice playing them together taking it in turns to lead.
• A gesture. This should be a short, distinctive, musical shape. It might
help to draw the shape on paper first, for instance:
Read the symbol from left to right, using the top as high, the bottom as
low. For dynamics, either use forte or piano, or interpret thick lines as
loud, thin ones as soft. All the group should read the sound
simultaneously, trying to produce something which ‘gels’ together. It
should last 3-4 seconds at most. Practice it until it feels comfortable.
• Ostinato. Piece together an ostinato from part of your melody and your
gesture. It should contain silence, and have a rhythmically irregular
quality to it, making it feel slightly uncomfortable.
Stage 2
Still in your groups, turn the four basic ideas into a short piece lasting 30-40
seconds. Try and merge the ideas together: perhaps the melody turns into
the ostinato, which is interrupted by the gesture, before it continues again.
Most importantly don’t play each element consecutively, but layer them, so
that various events happen simultaneously. This will mean one or more
players may have to stop playing a certain element (eg the melody) whilst
everyone else continues to do so. The piece can be semi-improvised, but try
it a few times until the group begins to feel how it goes. If it’s helpful, create a
graphic score of the piece.
Stage 3
To get an even greater sense of layering, find a way to combine all the groups
together into one piece.
This can use musical signals to start and stop different groups. When group 1
plays their first punctuating chord, group 2 starts their piece. When group two
plays its gesture, group 3 starts. When group 3 reaches its punctuating chord
group 1 stops.
Only allow all groups to be playing simultaneously at one point in the piece,
and make this the music’s climax. Otherwise, allow plenty of time for each
group to be heard on its own, so that the listener’s ear doesn’t become too
confused too quickly!
Stage 4
In the concert, you will hear two pieces by Birtwistle, Earth Dances and
Antiphonies.
Earth Dances lasts 33 minutes and is scored for large orchestra. It is in one
continuous, organic movement, and Birtwistle likens listening to the piece to ‘a
traveller in a big city who moves around seeing familiar landmarks in different
contexts and perspectives, and gradually building up the idea of the city as a
whole, although he can never grasp the entire plan in a single view.’
It’s a very colourful score which has been compared with Stravinsky’s Rite of
Spring because it seems to be full of extremely raw, elemental energy. It also
contains lots of energetic ostinati (as does The Rite), but perhaps more
important is the idea of layering musical material, which could be compared to
the strata in a rock face. In the lowest register the music tends to use the
intervals of a fourth and fifth. In the middle, thirds (especially minor ones) are
prominent. In the upper register sixths, sevenths and ninths are used. He
doesn’t stick to these areas the whole time, as sometimes the musical ideas
drift from one register to another. And although it is difficult to distinguish
each of these layers, you will sometimes hear rapid scales, which is material
returning to its original layer after having drifted somewhere else.
Generally, when you are listening in the concert, don’t listen for traditional-
style melodies, triadic harmony, or regular rhythms, as you will be
disappointed. Instead listen to the colours used in the orchestra, the way
melodies are overlayed with gestures and punctuation, and the ostinati which
emerge and gradually disappear. Keep your ears open!
Descriptions
Gritty Ugly
Uncompromising Beautiful
Difficult Powerful
Violent Raw
Aggressive Innovative
Different Avant-garde
Tough Fragmented
Energetic Vulgar
Compelling Fundamental
Colourful Elemental
Long Brutal
A Player’s View
A few years ago I was involved in a tour of about seven concerts with John
Woolrich’s Composers’ Ensemble. The programmes consisted of twelve or so
short new songs for soprano and small ensemble, written by a range of
leading British composers, along with pieces written by primary school
children. The audience at every concert therefore contained a large group of
children, many of whom hadn’t been to a classical concert before, and
certainly not one containing only contemporary music! Many of the pieces
were quirky and attractive. Harry’s piece Tenebrae (now one of the
movements of Pulse Shadows), is atmospheric and gripping, but on the face
of it the most strange and ‘modern’ sounding piece in the concert. At every
concert it was the only piece where the children were completely quiet and
concentrated on the music. However complex and strange, it had a direct
appeal for them.
Sometimes when rehearsing a large scale orchestral piece the conductor will
ask smaller sections of the orchestra to play alone. In a Birtwistle piece such
as Theseus Game this section may sound complete in itself – and with
another three or four layers to be added! The complexity can be mind-
boggling, but the result – sometimes mysterious, sometimes overwhelming –
is always exciting and moving.
Harry’s music has a unique sound – and he knows exactly what sound he
wants. When I played his Verses for clarinet and piano, which are beautiful
and soft little miniatures, I worked very hard to make them sound as lovely as
possible, using beautifully rounded notes and subtle phrasing, as though they
were Chopin Nocturnes, for example. Harry stopped me after a few seconds
of the rehearsal. “Where did all this phrasing come from?” he said. “I didn’t
write that. Just play the notes I’ve written, then stop!” I’d made the mistake of
trying to make the piece sound like something else. When I played it his way,
of course, it sounded more beautiful, and only like Birtwistle. A composer of
really great music can be identified straight away – and Harry always can.”
Further Information
8. Birtwistle – Panic
BBC Symphony Orchestra/ John Harle & Paul Clavis/ Sir Andrew Davis
The CD ROM Birtwistle Games that accompanies the pack contains a variety
of internet resources on Birtwistle, including an address for the London
Sinfonietta’s excellent guide to his music.
Cross, Jonathan Harrison Birtwistle: Man, mind, music London: Faber &
Faber, 2000
Hellawell, David The Hecklers are right about the musical avant-garde
www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/cultn/cultn035.pdf
Harrison Birtwistle: A Timeline of Compositions
Birtwistle’s compositions span the final half of last century and still new wonderful
works are appearing. Below is a timeline of his compositional output, showing the
variety of form and texture in which he composes:-
1950 Oockooing Bird for piano Prologue for tenor & chamber ensemble
1957 Refrains & Choruses for flute, oboe, Meridian for mezzo-soprano, soprano
clarinet, horn & bassoon voices, horn, cello & 11 players
1958 Three Sonatas for Nine Instruments Tombeau in memoriam Igor Stravinsky
1959 Monody for Corpus Christi for soprano, for Flute, clarinet, harp & string quartet
flute, horn and violin 1972 The fields of Sorrow for 2 sopranos,
1960 Précis for solo Piano chorus & 16 players
1963 Chorales for orchestra Chronometer for tape
Narration: A Description of the Passing Epilogue for baritone, horn, 4 trombones, 6
of a Year for chorus tam-tams
Music for Sleep for children’s voices, La Plage: Eight Arias of Remembrance
piano and percussion for soprano, 3 clarinets, piano &marimba
1964 Entr’actes and Sappho Fragments for The Triumph of Time for orchestra
soprano and chamber ensemble 1973 Grimethorpe Aria for brass band
Three Movements with Fanfares for Chanson de Geste for amplified sustaining
chamber orchestra Instrument and tape
1965 Carmen Paschale for chorus and 1975 Five Chorale Preludes for soprano,
obbligato organ clarinet, Basset horn and bass clarinet
Ring a Dumb Carillon for soprano, 1976 Melencolia I for solo clarinet, harp & 2
clarinet and percussion string orchestras
The Visions of Francesco Petrarca for For O, for O, the Hobby-Horse is Forgot
baritone, mime ensemble, chamber for 6 percussionists
ensemble and school orchestra 1977 Bow Down improvised musical theatre
Tragoedia for wind quintet, harp and string Pulse Field (Frames, Pulses and
quartet Interruptions) ballet
Verses for clarinet and piano Silbury Air for 15 players
1966 The Mark of the Goat for actors, singers, Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae
2 choruses and instruments Perpetuum for 14-31 players
1967 Punch and Judy 1978 …agm… for 16 voices & 3 ensembles
Chorale from a Toy Shop for 5 players 1979 Choral Fragments from …agm… for 16
Monodrama for soprano, speaker and Voices
chamber ensemble 1980 Mercure for chamber orchestra
Three Lessons in a Frame for piano, On the Sheer Threshold of the Night for
flute, clarinet, violin, cello and percussion Soprano, counter-tenor, tenor, bass and 12
1968 Nomos for 4 amplified wind instruments Voices
and orchestra Clarinet Quintet for clarinet and string
Four Interludes for a Tragedy for basset Quartet
clarinet and tape 1981 Pulse Sampler for oboes and claves
Verses for Ensembles for 5 woodwind, 5 1983 Duets for Storab for 2 flutes
brass & 3 percussion Deowa for soprano and clarinet
Linoi for clarinet and piano 1984 The Mask of Orpheus opera
1969 Down by the Greenwood Side Tan Tan Tethera
Some Petals from my Twickenham Still Movement for 13 solo strings
Herbarium for piccolo, clarinet, viola, cello, Secret Theatre for 14 players
piano and glockenspiel Songs by Myself for soprano and
Cantata for soprano and chamber Chamber Ensemble
ensemble Berceuse de Jeanne for piano
UT Heremita Solus for chamber ensemble Words Overheard for soprano and
Hoquetus David for chamber ensemble Chamber Orchestra
Eight Lessons for Keyboards 1985 Earth Dances for orchestra
1970 Medusa for chamber ensemble 1986 Endless Parade for solo trumpet,
Nenia: the Death of Orpheus for soprano Vibraphone & string orchestra
and ensemble Hector’s Dawn for piano
Fanfare for Will for brass ensemble
Signals for clarinet and tape Fanfare for brass & percussion
Dinah and Nick’s Love Song for 2 Tenebrae David for brass ensemble
Melody instruments & harp The Shadow of Night for orchestra
Les Hoquests du Gardien de La Lune for 2002 Bacchae Music to the play by Euripides
orchestra Theseus Game large ensemble with 2
1988 Four Songs of Autumn for soprano and Conductors
string quartet 2003 The Ring Dance of Nazarene for solo
An die Musik for soprano and 10 players tenor, Chorus and ensemble
Machaut à ma manière for orchestra The Gleam Christmas Carol for SATB choir
1989 Salford Toccata for brass band The Io Passion chamber opera
The Wine merchant of Robin of Mere for 2004 Night’s Black Bird for orchestra
male voice and piano 26 Orpheus Elegies for oboe, harp and
1990 Ritual Fragment for 14 players voice
1991 Gawain opera Today Too for tenor, flute and guitar
Four Poems by Jaan Kaplinski for Three Brendel Settings for baritone and
soprano and 13 players Orchestra
Gawain’s Journey for orchestra Three Arias for soprano, countertenor and
1992 Antiphonies for solo piano & orchestra ensemble
Five Distances for Five Instruments for
wind quintet
1993 The Second Mrs Kong opera
1994 The Cry of Anubis for tuba & orchestra
Fanfare for Glyndebourne for brass
ensemble and timpani
1995 Hoquetus Petrus for 2 flutes and piccolo
trumpet
Panic for alto saxophone, jazz drummer,
wind, brass & percussion
1996 9 Settings of Celan for soprano &
ensemble
Pulse Shadows for soprano, string quartet
& ensemble
9 Movements for String Quartet
Slow Frieze for piano & ensemble
Bach Measures for chamber orchestra
1997 Exody for orchestra
Harrison’s Clocks for piano solo
1998 Placid Mobile for 36 muted trumpets
The Silk House Tattoo for 2 trumpets & 3
side drums
1999 The Last Supper
Love Cries for soprano, mezzo soprano,
tenor & orchestra
Three Latin Motets for 18 part mixed choir
a cappella
The Woman and the Hare for soprano,
reciter and ensemble
Sonance 2000 for brass ensemble
2000 9 Settings of Lorine Niedecker for
soprano and cello
17 Tate Riffs for ensemble
The Axe Manual for piano & percussion
Ostinato with melody for solo piano
Betty Freeman: Her Tango for solo piano
The Sadness of Komachi for tenor and
prepared piano
2001 Saraband: The Kings Farewell for
Solo piano
The musical team & contact details
Since then John’s career has gone from strength to strength. His
compositions have included works for various instrumentalists and
ensembles, he is a member of the Gamelan orchestra Swarånå and has
become an experienced educator in a variety of environments. This includes
lecturing at the Birmingham Conservatoire, teaching at the Royal Academy of
Music Junior Department and running educational projects with the English
National Opera, The Stables, Milton Keynes and Wigmore Hall.
We hope you enjoyed this pack and found it helpful. Please do let us know
any comments about the pack or if you would like any further information
about the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Community & Education Programme.