gun, fire (2021)
USC Symphony Orchestra / Oct. 13, 2021
conducted by Donald Crockett
Program notes: Content warning: gun violence
In 2017 after news of another deadly shooting and learning that some at this particular shooting mistook the sound for fireworks, 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. 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.
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
In 2017 after news of another deadly shooting and learning that some at this particular shooting mistook the sound for fireworks, 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. 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.
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.