gun, fire (2021)
USC Symphony Orchestra / Oct. 13, 2021
conducted by Donald Crockett
Program notes: Content warning: gun violence
The idea for this piece began in 2017 after news broke about another act of gun violence in which people had a hard time distinguishing whether they were hearing gunshots or fireworks, a confusion which is common to many instances of gun violence. I thought that as a composer who obsesses over sound, this was perhaps one area in which I could contribute. I became anxiously obsessed with teaching myself to identify the component sounds of gunshots: the initial explosive muzzle blast, the descending whiz of the bullet, the thump of the bullet stopping, and the reverberant tail.
On a personal level, learning to distinguish these sounds has been helpful for some small feeling of safety in a world rife with gun violence and mass shootings. But researching this topic also revealed the many ways in which the sounds of gunshots and violence are glorified in American culture: the explosive sound of fireworks being deliberately added in to mimic sounds of the warfare (fireworks could be mostly silent), or how the 1812 Overture is paired with fireworks (or occasionally actual canons) as a sonic celebration of violence and warfare.
In writing this work, I wanted to think through how to increase familiarity with distinctions of these sounds, and about how music can serve as an accessible entry point. Movement 1 begins with an orchestrated gunshot, based on slowed recordings of gunfire. The musical material that resulted from orchestrating gunshots, as a way of teaching myself these sonic qualities, is woven together in this movement.
Movement 2 reimagines some of the quietest moments from Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, a piece which celebrates Russia’s defense against Napoleon’s invading forces from France. Despite Tchaikovsky himself hating the work, calling it “very loud and noisy,” the 1812 Overture is one of the most popular orchestral works today, often paired with fireworks, or even cannon fire, in a celebration of warfare and violence. Here, I am critically thinking through the role that orchestras themselves play in celebrating violence through sound.
One of the quickest ways to tell gunfire apart from fireworks is that fireworks often have many “attacks” in irregular patterns, whereas gunfire often occurs in short, steady bursts due to its mechanical nature. Movement 3 uses the irregular rhythm of fireworks, but takes away their destructive sound, instead drawing on harmonic material from a song with significance in the 2017 shooting.
conducted by Donald Crockett
Program notes: Content warning: gun violence
The idea for this piece began in 2017 after news broke about another act of gun violence in which people had a hard time distinguishing whether they were hearing gunshots or fireworks, a confusion which is common to many instances of gun violence. I thought that as a composer who obsesses over sound, this was perhaps one area in which I could contribute. I became anxiously obsessed with teaching myself to identify the component sounds of gunshots: the initial explosive muzzle blast, the descending whiz of the bullet, the thump of the bullet stopping, and the reverberant tail.
On a personal level, learning to distinguish these sounds has been helpful for some small feeling of safety in a world rife with gun violence and mass shootings. But researching this topic also revealed the many ways in which the sounds of gunshots and violence are glorified in American culture: the explosive sound of fireworks being deliberately added in to mimic sounds of the warfare (fireworks could be mostly silent), or how the 1812 Overture is paired with fireworks (or occasionally actual canons) as a sonic celebration of violence and warfare.
In writing this work, I wanted to think through how to increase familiarity with distinctions of these sounds, and about how music can serve as an accessible entry point. Movement 1 begins with an orchestrated gunshot, based on slowed recordings of gunfire. The musical material that resulted from orchestrating gunshots, as a way of teaching myself these sonic qualities, is woven together in this movement.
Movement 2 reimagines some of the quietest moments from Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, a piece which celebrates Russia’s defense against Napoleon’s invading forces from France. Despite Tchaikovsky himself hating the work, calling it “very loud and noisy,” the 1812 Overture is one of the most popular orchestral works today, often paired with fireworks, or even cannon fire, in a celebration of warfare and violence. Here, I am critically thinking through the role that orchestras themselves play in celebrating violence through sound.
One of the quickest ways to tell gunfire apart from fireworks is that fireworks often have many “attacks” in irregular patterns, whereas gunfire often occurs in short, steady bursts due to its mechanical nature. Movement 3 uses the irregular rhythm of fireworks, but takes away their destructive sound, instead drawing on harmonic material from a song with significance in the 2017 shooting.