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BTT (Colin Jacobsen)

from Spontaneous Symbols (ICR008) by Brooklyn Rider

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about

BTT started off in my mind as an investigation into and celebration of the incredible creative ferment and experimentation of the 1970's/80's
downtown New York scene as embodied by the likes of Glenn Branca, Meredith Monk, Arthur Russell, John Zorn, the Velvet Underground, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, the New York Dolls, Laurie Anderson, Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Company, the Lounge Lizards, to name a few. However, I also found myself thinking about John Cage and Johann Sebastian Bach. This happened in part because a colleague of mine suggested that Cage was really the spiritual father of that whole scene. I then realized that Cage was tapping into the same elemental "stuff" as Bach, even if perhaps from an opposite point of view and an obviously different era. While Cage is known as a proponent of chaos, he most often set up a system of rules, welcoming whatever unfolded within that system. When we think of Bach and the cosmic order in his fugues, there's also a setting up of parameters with an almost pre-determined quality which then unravel in a natural and larger than human way.

I also felt that even within the incredible eclecticism that defined the downtown NY scene and continues to influence so many diverse musical worlds, I found it interesting to juxtapose two other opposing musical streams in this piece; the "minimalism" of Glass and Reich (music that unfolds over spacious time) and the "maximalism" of somebody like Zorn (music that constantly seeks to smash and subvert itself even as it's happening).

All this to say that most of the musical material in BTT emanates from a spelling of B-A-C-H and C-A-G-E (D), which in and of itself sets up an interesting juxtaposition of tonalities. The BACH motif is chromatic and curls in on itself while the CAGE motif has an open and pentatonic feel. Over the course of the piece, the two motifs interact in a variety of ways; sometimes contradicting each other and sometimes in harmony. The resulting mix of sections may or may not relate to some of the above mentioned musicians.

- Colin Jacobsen

credits

from Spontaneous Symbols (ICR008), released October 20, 2017
Composed by Colin Jacobsen

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Brooklyn Rider New York

Hailed as “the future of chamber music” (Strings), the veteran string quartet Brooklyn Rider presents eclectic repertoire and gripping performances that continue to draw rave reviews from classical, world, and rock critics alike. NPR credits Brooklyn Rider with “recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble.” ... more

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