the sinking of the titanic
I’ve been in love with minimalistic classical music since I can remember. Droning, hypnotic, repetitive, ambient? Sign me up. We got one of the genre’s key titles today, Gavin Bryars‘ “The Sinking of the Titanic,” but with a twist.
The original “Sinking of the Titanic” was recorded and first released on Brian Eno’s Obscure label in 1975. The composition is based around the Episcopal hymn “Autumn,” which was reportedly played by the band as the ship went under. Bryars was only interested in the hymn, however, as the starting point for an investigation into memory, loss, and the ravages of time. You can hear in the original recording how abstractly Bryars adapted the music, making it less of a song and more like a statement. Think William Basinski’s “The Disintegration Loops.”
This new version of Bryars’ classic work was done in conjunction with avant-turntablist Philip Jeck and an Italian ensemble called Alter Ego, who play the classical instrumentation, as well as bringing in bottles, tape recorders, laptops and percussion. (Bryars adds double bass, his natural instrument.) Jeck is the star here, though, as you can’t help but notice the vinyl crackle that begins and ends the piece. In between, even without the rustling, little is clear-eyed. Instead as Adam Sweeting puts it “fragments of the hymn float up like a sad farewell from the black depths of the Atlantic,” along with “throbbing engines, watery metallic echoes, clanging ship’s bells, recorded voices of Titanic survivors.” Stunning stuff. And easily worth the measly download it requires.
Thanks for recommending this. It’s a lot to absorb (especially at the office), but I like what I’m hearing a lot. And yes, I think it does touch themes about aging, sadness, inevitable decline and decay, and dignity. That’s a lot for a piece to address.
Thanks again, Todd. I really love this disc, and all of its watery, static-y, sad nuances.
I see you say you’re a big fan of this type of work. If you can, I’d really appreciate some more recommendations from this sub-genre.
This is a really stunning, lovely piece.
As far as recommendations go: Unfortunately, eMusic doesn’t seem to have it (yet? it is also on Touch) but I suggest Johann Johannsson’s Virthulegu forsetar if you want more along the lines of this composition. All 4 parts are built from one musical phrase for brass, so what appears to be repetitive actually manages to settle in an ambient way, and the manipulations done to the phrase over the course of the disc makes for a subtly dynamic whole. Kind of like the Bryars’ composition, it makes a whole lot out of very little and hits a bittersweet spot that never slips, to my ears anyway, into sappy melancholia.
You could do much worse than check out Deep Listening by Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, and Panatois (eMusic has it, 4 downloads), as well. You might also like Ekkehard Ehlers, at least the stuff collected on Plays (also available on the site).
Alex/Todd or others: How about the two-track William Basinski and Richard Chartier piece, called “Untitled,” and which is available on eMusic(http://www.emusic.com/album/William-Basinski-And-Richard-Chartier-Untitled-MP3-Download/10869576.html)? Is that in the same sub-genre? I see it’s an eMusic “Pick,” but have either of you (or other readers/17 Dots bloggers) heard it and, if so, what do you think of it?
Thanks.
The Basinski/Chartier is very good, but I like Basinski’s solo work much better, Daniel. A little bird told me that we might get lucky very soon w/r/t that stuff, so I’d advise you to hold out a bit…
Excellent! I looked for “The Disintegration Loops” forever, without success. If you nab that, it will be a coup. Acquisitions like that are the kind of thing I love about eMusic.
“Disintegration Loops” is one of my all-time favorite albums. You just get lost in it.
Im loving this. Thanks!
Disintegration Loops I-IV are up! This is so good!