Innova 724
Neil Rolnick
The Economic Engine
BACK OF BOOKLET
(& BACK OF JEWEL CASE, with graphic ?):
Neil Rolnick
The Economic Engine
with
MAYA (Sato Moughalian, flute;
Jacqueline Kerrod, harp; John Hadfield, percussion)
Music from China (Wang Guowei, erhu; Helen
Yee, yangqin; Ann Yao, guzheng; Sun Li, pipa)
The Todd Reynolds String
Quartet
(Todd Reynolds & Benjamin Russell, violins; Nadia Sirota, viola; Ha-Yang Kim, cello)
Todd Reynolds, violin
Kathleen SupovŽ, piano
The Economic Engine
performed by Music from China & The Todd
Reynolds String Quartet
1. Traffic [6:50]
2. Farm
To Factory [4:02]
3. Opaque
Air [4:06]
4. Hutong
To Highrise [7:20]
All selections © & p Neilnick Music (BMI)
Jody Elff, recording, mixing and mastering.
Produced by Neil Rolnick.
Neil Rolnick
The Economic Engine
Is
music ever about something specific?
Although thereÕs no text to any of the pieces on this CD, they are all
emotional reactions to the things going on in my life when I was writing
them. While working on Uptown Jump in 2006 I was anticipating
my daughterÕs familyÕs move to my uptown neighborhood of Washington
Heights. In particular, I thought
of the piece as a celebration of my then one-year old grandson JakeÕs move uptown
from Brooklyn to northern Manhattan.
A year later I was anticipating and celebrating the arrival of JakeÕs
little sister Maddy, who was born in the midst of my work on Hammer & Hair. And throughout the entire period I was
working on the title piece, The Economic
Engine, with multiple trips to China, where I tried to come to some
understanding of the impact of ChinaÕs economic boom, while searching for a way
to reflect some of that impact musically.
Although
a great deal of my past music has focused on the use of electronic and digital
media, these pieces reflect my more recent focus on thinking about music in
terms of instrumental performance.
IÕve always been most interested in music as an activity, as something
we do together. Although there is
a considerable amount of electronic processing in The Economic Engine, the piece is very much about the music being
played by the instruments. The
digital effects are really more like extended playing techniques. Not terribly different from the way
that I use violin harmonics or stopped piano strings in Hammer & Hair, in order to provide additional color and sonic
variety.
I
think of the final piece on this disk as a Òbonus track.Ó ItÕs a favorite early piece of mine
which has been out of print for nearly 20 years. And like the more recent pieces on the disk, it is really
focused on instrumental writing, with my solo electronic performance integrated
into the ensemble. Though I can
hear many changes in my musical voice as it has evolved over the last 25 years,
I can also hear how my penchant for catchy rhythms and hooky melodies was
evident even then, as was my interest in treating the electronic media as just
another instrument.
The Economic Engine (2008)
As
an observer from the other side of the globe, I have often seen China described
as Òthe economic engine of the 21st century.Ó In my four visits to China from
2005-2008, as IÕve gone about having my music performed, IÕve been struck by
the energy and industry of the people IÕve interacted with, and by the lightening-fast
pace of change which seems to impact everything I see.
In
The Economic Engine IÕve tried to
make sonic representations of four of the many manifestations of how dramatic
economic growth has impacted the life IÕve observed on my visits. The four movements are called
ÒTraffic,Ó ÒFarm to Factory,Ó
ÒOpaque AirÓ and ÒHutong to Highrise.Ó
For
more of my thoughts about my recent experiences visiting China, take a look at http://www.arts-electric.org/stories/080818_rolnick.html
The Economic
Engine is scored for a double quartet of stringed instruments: four traditional Chinese instruments
(erhu, yangqin, guzheng and pipa) and a classical western string quartet (2
violins, viola and cello). All of the instruments are
digitally processed in the performance.
In
performance the music is accompanied by video which was assembled and produced
by Cindy Ng Sio Ieng. The video
footage documents the responses of three Beijing-based performance artists to
the growing Chinese economy. The
videos include performances of ÒMagicÓ by Si Man, ÒEconomic GrowthÓ by Xue Liming, and ÒRMBÓ by Wang Chuyu. In New York, the video was performed
and processed by Adam Kendall.
The Economic Engine was commissioned by the
China Electronic Music Center at the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing,
China. Additional support for this
project was received from the Asian Cultural Council, Meet the ComposersÕ
Global Connections Program, the Lower Manhattan Cultural CouncilÕs MCAF and
Production Grant Programs, the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, and Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute. Cindy Ng Sio IengÕs
participation in the project was supported by the Macao Culture Department.
Hammer & Hair
(2007)
Initially
I had intended to include extensive computer processing of the piano and violin
as part of the piece. As I began
to see the music unfold, I found myself
increasingly intrigued by what I could do with just the acoustic sounds
of the pianoÕs hammers and the violinÕs bow – hence the name of the
piece. In a way, this decision
reflects the musical direction of the work. Though there are many non-classical references throughout
the piece, with jazz-like melodies, stride piano tunes, a waltz and atmospheric
thumpings inside the piano, this is really a very classical piece. With thematic material which evolves
from beginning to end, with numerous changes of texture and tempo, and even a
little fugue, itÕs a 20 minute tour de
force of a violin and piano sonata.
Uptown Jump
(2006)
Uptown Jump is a little
celebration. ItÕs a party
piece. During the time I was
writing it, in the spring of 2006, my daughterÕs family was trying to maneuver
their way to purchase an apartment in the building next to mine in Washington
Heights, in upper Manhattan. Like
all New York City real estate stories, it was full of drama, ups and downs,
evil landlords and missed deadlines.
As I worked through the piece I followed these ups and downs with great
anticipation, particularly at the prospect of my grandson Jake being next door,
and I looked forward to the change a newly extended family would bring to my
life.
The
move worked out. Jake made his
uptown jump from Brooklyn, and the extended family now includes his baby sister
Maddy as well. And this piece is a
little record of the adventure.
Real Time (1983) **bonus track**
(notes
from original LP release)
As
the title indicates, Real Time
focuses upon the interaction of real time computer generated sounds with a large
chamber ensemble. The Synclavier
II is a computer and digital synthesizer which can be controlled with a
traditional piano-type keyboard and an array of buttons and foot pedals. The SynclavierÕs role in the piece is
sometimes as a soloist, sometimes as part of the ensemble. The Synclavier makes use of a very wide
variety of instrument-like timbres to complement and extend the colors of the
instrumental writing.
Just
as the SynclavierÕs function in Real Time
is integrative, so too is the musical concept behind the piece one of
integration of myriad musical perspectives. The harmonic textures of Òbig bandÓ music of the 1940s,
along with some of the rhythmic drive which infects so much of the mid-century
swing and jazz, are used to fill out a formal structure which derives from some
of the solo meditative music for the Japanese shakuhachi.
Real Time was premiered December
14, 1983 at the Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, under the direction of
Gerard Schwarz, with the composer playing the Synclavier II.
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MORE ABOUT THE MUSICIANS:
MAYA: http://www.mayatrio.com
Music From China: http://www.musicfromchina.org
Todd Reynolds: http://www.toddreynolds.com
Neil Rolnick: http://www.neilrolnick.com
Kathleen SupovŽ: http://www.kathleensupove.com
RECORDING INFORMATION:
All tracks
except Real Time were recorded, mixed and mastered in
2008 by Jody Elff. The Economic Engine was recorded at
Elff Productions, New Paltz, NY. Hammer & Hair
was recorded at NRS Studios, Catskill, NY. Uptown Jump was recorded
at Avatar Studios, New York City. Real Time was recorded by David Budries
in 1987 at The Hartt College of Music, Hartford, CT, and was originally
released as an LP on the CRI label (CRI 540) . Real Time was re-mastered
by Jody Elff.
Cover image and booklet
design by Innova Recordings.
PRODUCED BY
NEIL ROLNICK