Since it was requested (!) I thought I’d write about Steve Reich’s “Different Trains”, a composition exploring Reich’s experiences during the Second World War in America, and the experiences of European Jews.
The harmonizing of pre-recorded spoken samples is crucial to this composition, but for all of this technological and musical manipulation, and the fact that there is no “singer”, this piece is to me a song.
I dug out my copy of Mozart’s Requiem to listen to this week, a piece I became obsessed with when I was sixteen (having watched Amadeus for the first time, don’t tell anyone!).
A lot of people are interested in all of the myths surrounding its composition: dying genius, conspiracy theories, and so on. But for me, one of the most interesting things to think about is the actual meaning of this “Mass for the Dead”.
This idea comes from the original religious sense of the Requiem. But since we now usually hear Mozart’s masterpiece in secular settings, it also has meaning beyond its liturgical place.
I joined Oxford Philomusica on 1st September to work with Lesley Wynne (concerts manager) for four months. I came to this job after three years at Oxford University, where I studied music at Somerville College, and in the summer, punting at Christ Church!
I currently live outside of London, and so I have a fairly substantial commute into the office every morning, but to make this pass as quickly as possible I like to listen to music. In fact, I’ve decided to write a weekly blog, “Train Tracks”, about what I’m listening to; it often coincides with works from the forthcoming OP season, so be sure to read it if you want to know about what’s coming up.
I’ve really enjoyed my first two weeks at Oxford Philomusica, and I can’t wait for the orchestra’s return from their tour to Cyprus to get stuck-in to the busy 2010-11 season!
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