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On the Nature of Things (After Lucretius) (1956)
Henry Brant:
"On the Nature of Things is a spatial orchestral tone poem derived from 'Scene 4--Lucretius' in my spatial opera The Grand Universal Circus (1956). I wrote the tone poem for performance at the Bennington College Composers' Conference and conducted the premiere there in August 1956 ... In the tone poem, the strings play an adaptation of what a solo mezzo-soprano sings in the opera. This work takes as its point of departure Lucretius' poem De Rerum Natura. The general atmosphere of the piece is intended to evoke a sense of classical pastoral antiquity.
"For the intended spatial effect on which this work substantially depends, only the violins, violas, and cellos should occupy the stage. The conductor faces the audience. The trio of flute, clarinet, and bassoon is placed together as a group, but widely separated from the strings; if possible in a balcony. The horn is isolated, possibly in a balcony -- likewise the oboe, but oboe and horn should be widely apart. The solo flute has its own sequestered location, well apart from the strings and from the other winds, and high up if feasible. The glockenspiel, although not to be placed adjacent to the flute, should be situated fairly close to it ... Basses should be positioned at the 'orchestra-seat' level, either behind the audience or in an aisle, single file."
Excerpt from De Rerum Natura [On the Nature of Things] by Titus Lucretius Carus
(c. 99 BC - c. 55 BC)
Translation by Maeve Olen
Then, you must know, did the earth first give forth generations of mortal creatures. For much heat and moisture did then abound in the fields; therefore whenever a suitable place was found, wombs would grow attached to the earth by roots; and when in the fullness of time, the infants fleeing the wet and seeking the air, had opened these wombs, nature would turn to that spot the pores of the earth and make it discharge from these opened veins a liquid like unto milk ... Earth gave food for the children, her warmth gave them raiment, her grasses a bed with abundance of down rich and soft. Wherefore again and again the earth deserves the name of mother ... But because she must have some limit to her bearing, she ceased, like a woman worn out by the length of her years. For time changes the nature of the whole universe, and one state of things must pass into another, and nothing remains as it was.
Henry Brant (1913-2008) was a pioneer of acoustic spatial music. His works place musicians in unconventional positions throughout a concert hall or outdoor setting for particular musical effects. Inspired by the music of Charles Ives and Teo Macero, Brant's spatial techniques create complex instrumental textures and take advantage of hall acoustics and resonance. He wrote over 120 spatial works which often employ contrasting musical styles and very large instrumental forces. Brant:
"All music is spatial. Space is needed for performers, for audience, and for sound waves to travel, rebound, or be absorbed, and is thus an essential musical element. (It might be described as a fourth dimension in music; the other three being pitch, rhythm, and tone quality.)"
Born in Montreal, Canada, Brant began composing at the age of eight using his own homemade instruments. He studied for three years at the McGill Conservatorium of Music in Montreal, then moved to New York City in 1929. There he continued his education at the Institute of Musical Art and Juilliard School of Music, and studied privately with George Antheil, Fritz Mahler, and Wallingford Riegger. While pursuing his experimental work Brant composed and conducted for radio, film, ballet, and jazz, working with musicians Benny Goodman and Andre Kostelanetz. In the late 1940's Brant taught at Columbia University and the Juilliard School, and from 1957 to 1980 at Bennington College in Vermont. From 1981 to his death he lived in Santa Barbara, California.
Brant was a recipient of awards and fellowships from the Ford, Fromm, Guggenheim, and Koussevitzky Foundations, American Music Center, and National Endowment for the Arts. He was the first composer from the United States to win the Prix Italia (1955), and in 2002 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Ice Field, a work for organ and large orchestral groups premiered by the San Francisco Symphony in 2001. Other recent premieres included Brant's "extraplanetary environmental oratorio" Wind, Water, Clouds & Fire (2004) for four choruses and 25 instruments, commissioned by Present Music and premiered at St. John's Cathedral in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Tremors (2004) for four singers and 16 instruments, premiered at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California; and Crystal Antiphonies (2000) for the Swarovski Wind Ensemble and Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, premiered at the Klangspuren Festival in Schwaz, Austria.
Brant was widely regarded as a master orchestrator. Textures & Timbres, his textbook on orchestration begun in the 1940's, will be published by Carl Fischer in 2008. Between 2004-2008 innova Recordings released nine CDs comprising The Henry Brant Collection; other recordings can be found on the Albany, AmCam, Boston, Cadenza, Cp2, First Edition, Newport Classic, New World, Phoenix, and Unical labels.
related websites
http://www.carlfischer.com/Fischer/brantbio.html
The Louisville Orchestra in Kentucky was founded by conductor Robert Whitney in 1937 as the Louisville Philharmonic Society. It has since premiered and recorded works by over 250 composers including Benjamin Britten, Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, John Corigliano, Alberto Ginastera, Jacques Ibert, Charles Ives, Ulysses Kay, Walter Piston, Joan Tower, and Heitor Villa-Lobos. Its performances can be found on the Albany, Centaur, CRI, Crystal, First Edition, Koch International Classics, and New World labels. Jorge Mester was the orchestra's second music director, a post he held from 1967 to 1969; its most recent director was Uriel Segal.
related websites
http://www.louisvilleorchestra.org
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