The Dharma at Big Sur
Encyclopedia
The Dharma at Big Sur is a composition for solo electric violin and orchestra by John Adams
. The piece calls for some instruments (harp, piano, samplers) to use just intonation
, a tuning system in which intervals sound pure, rather than equal temperament
, the common Western tuning system in which all intervals except the octave are impure. The piece was composed in 2003 for the opening of Disney Hall in Los Angeles
and was conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen
. The electric violin solo was performed by Tracy Silverman
.
John Adams described the process of composing the piece:
"I wanted to express the moment, the so-called “shock of recognition”, when one reaches the edge of the continental land mass. On the Atlantic coast, the air seems to announce it with its salty taste and briney scents. Coming upon the California coast is a different experience altogether. Rather than gently yielding ground to the water the Western shelf drops off violently, often from dizzying heights, as it does at Big Sur, the stretch of coastal precipice midway between Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara. Here the current pounds and smashes the littoral in a slow, lazy rhythm of terrifying power. For a newcomer the first exposure produces a visceral effect of great emotional complexity."
The premier of The Dharma at Big Sur was met with rave reviews by many major publications including the Los Angeles Times
in which Mark Swed stated 'Mozart is lovely in Walt Disney Concert Hall; Stravinsky, sensational. But Disney's design — to say nothing of its heart, soul and sound — is of our town and time, our state and state of mind. It demands the same in music. Friday night, at the second of the three opening galas, it got just that with the premiere of John Adams' irresistible tribute to California, "The Dharma at Big Sur."'
John Coolidge Adams
John Coolidge Adams is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer with strong roots in minimalism. His best-known works include Short Ride in a Fast Machine , On the Transmigration of Souls , a choral piece commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks , and Shaker...
. The piece calls for some instruments (harp, piano, samplers) to use just intonation
Just intonation
In music, just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios of small whole numbers. Any interval tuned in this way is called a just interval. The two notes in any just interval are members of the same harmonic series...
, a tuning system in which intervals sound pure, rather than equal temperament
Equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
, the common Western tuning system in which all intervals except the octave are impure. The piece was composed in 2003 for the opening of Disney Hall in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and was conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.-Early career:...
. The electric violin solo was performed by Tracy Silverman
Tracy Silverman
Tracy Silverman is an American violinist, composer, and producer. Born in New York and raised in Beloit, Wisconsin, he attended Beloit Memorial High School, but left after 10th grade to enter the Chicago Musical College at the age of 16...
.
John Adams described the process of composing the piece:
"I wanted to express the moment, the so-called “shock of recognition”, when one reaches the edge of the continental land mass. On the Atlantic coast, the air seems to announce it with its salty taste and briney scents. Coming upon the California coast is a different experience altogether. Rather than gently yielding ground to the water the Western shelf drops off violently, often from dizzying heights, as it does at Big Sur, the stretch of coastal precipice midway between Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara. Here the current pounds and smashes the littoral in a slow, lazy rhythm of terrifying power. For a newcomer the first exposure produces a visceral effect of great emotional complexity."
The premier of The Dharma at Big Sur was met with rave reviews by many major publications including the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
in which Mark Swed stated 'Mozart is lovely in Walt Disney Concert Hall; Stravinsky, sensational. But Disney's design — to say nothing of its heart, soul and sound — is of our town and time, our state and state of mind. It demands the same in music. Friday night, at the second of the three opening galas, it got just that with the premiere of John Adams' irresistible tribute to California, "The Dharma at Big Sur."'
External links
- http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/adams-the-dharma-at-big-sur/id191836937
- http://www.earbox.com/W-dharma.html
- http://www.calendarlive.com/music/classical/cl-et-review25oct25,0,6746891.story