REVIEW: “Eric” for Symphony Orchestra

How fortunate you are!

Typically, as devoted readers will attest, I save the piercing… um… lash of my adjective-cumbersome reviews for film. In fact, WordPress tells me I’ve written NEARLY TEN such reviews, each one more senselessly wordy than the last. Now, I’m positive WordPress is terribly wrong with this calculation, but it nonetheless serves as some sort of proof that I’m not just flat-out lying to you all the time. See? See how fortunate you are? And it’s not even your birthday.

My brother Ryan (music composer and self-devoted-blog-fanatic) has very recently written and posted a brand-new piece which he has written for symphony orchestra, and recorded on solo piano. It’s titled “Eric” which fits with his trend of titling original compositions of any length with the old video game character theme titling system. I for one have ALWAYS supported character themes, even though this one seems to be in name only. In any case, it’s a 14 minute dramatic epic, most suitable (in my opinion) for a film score. It runs through several segments of varying intensity, but generally revolves around a few thematic elements.

Of his piece, Ryan writes:

“I’d like to admit that it’s hard for me to play this piece and do it justice, as the instrumentation in my head differs from what I’m playing (I simply do not have enough hands or the piano skills). “

Quite. In fact, the liner notes he includes with this rough draft detail exactly his intentions with several segments of the piece, making plenty of room for woodwind solos (including what will eventually be a soul-destroying English horn.) These notations are rather important, although not necessarily vital to keep in mind on first listen. The melody is pretty thoroughly conveyed with the piano alone–a testament to the skill with which he plays.

The first thing I’ll say about the piece itself is that the flow is impeccable. There was no lone moment that seemed abruptly out of place or disconnected from the overall composition. This is a pleasantness that should not go overlooked, as the piece exceeds in length most all of his other musical time parameters, it does not feel like several separate pieces stitched together clumsily, but rather a single, solid symphony.

The chord configurations in play, especially within the first three minutes are ethereal and boldly moving. It sets up what I believe to be the thematic conveyance of the piece. We open with a sudden sadness, as though entering unaware into any number of given scenes, unsure and anxious. We then ease naturally into the narrative of the piece, effortlessly taking in the grand scale of its presentation.

The bulk of the piece takes us on an immensely personal journey through emotion itself. One listening to this piece should easily be able to conjure personal memories of lasting emotion as the music unfolds around them. For me, my mind was constantly being transported between joyous and tragic places within time and space, and at times was almost overcome by emotion entirely.

Personally, the heart of this piece rests within its brutal effect on the listener’s psyche. The melodies are so conducive to reflection that they border on therapeutic. At times in one’s life they find themselves captured in a moment–whether it be walking alone along a forest trail or waiting patiently for your 5am bus to arrive on a cold and rainy Tuesday morning–that they begin to see the moment from a third-person perspective, as though they are realizing for the first time that they exist, and that they play a role in life. In these captured moments, this music plays.

And as a sort of score-for-life’s-emotions, this piece fits brilliantly, up to and including the majestic finale. The music swells with almost unbearable gravity until it calmly guides you back evenly and warmly to the place at which you started. You exit the journey feeling enriched: a more understanding person than when you entered.

The video, which I will link to momentarily, was edited to include passing images to facilitate the listening experience. I’m gonna go ahead and say that a lot of effort was put into this, if for no other reason than that it’s 14 minutes of images having to be edited together to music. Really, though, it’s a beautiful experience that only adds to the composition.

http://www.facebook.com/v/52930536814

Enjoy the video (which only exists on facebook as far as I know, at least for the time being), and comment if’n you’ve given the video enough time.

Obviously I love the piece, and hopefully you’ll be able to appreciate it on the same level I do. I for one hope I am not alone in saying that I cannot wait for the fully orchestrated symphonic version.

The Deadliest Game

So, I was on the internet the other day, which is rather uncharacteristic of me because usually when I go to my laptop, the last thing I want to be reminded of is how much my blog exists. Well, that’s not true, the last thing I want to be reminded of is the existence of deadly centipedes. It’s ALWAYS centipedes.

 

It's very possible that I do not know what centipedes are.

 

 

But, anyway, I was on the internet and I noticed that my brother (my REAL-LIFE brother, not, like, a brother from another mother, or a cousin from another… I forget the saying, exactly) has an honest-to-god BLOG up. Bullshit, right? So, I read it (over the course of several days, considering it’s a 2500 page epic), and I thought, man, what’s up with this bullshit? Then I thought back on all of my old MySpace blog posts (which are safely hidden away from the internet and secured on my laptop now… which is another reason I fear my laptop) and how clever they used to be, and I thought, I can still be clever, goddamit! And so, I have no choice but to fully review my brother’s blog, “Welcome to L.A…. A New Way to Practice”:

So, he starts out generously enough by lying to us, promising “…I don’t intend on posting a lot in this initial post, as my thoughts are already overwhelmingly flooding my mind and I can’t fathom where to begin.” What then follows is what Microsoft Word likes to refer to as “and 846-word document”, or what my English teacher used to call “about 5 pages short of the seven-page essay requirement”. Really, Ryan? You don’t intend on posting a lot? That’d be like me starting off my blogs with “I don’t intend on insulting anyone here,” which I’ve been advised not to do on several occasions for legal reasons.

He then goes on to describe in great detail his plight, not dissimilar to that of H.R. Haldeman’s, or say, that guy from the Karate Kid movies (Miyagi). In short, he lives in L.A.

 

Jackie Chan is also Miyagi sometimes.

 

 

Then we’re treated to a bit of a break from realizing how horrible California is all the time, with a short story on how he practices the clarinet. I was under the impression that the thing about musical instruments was that you didn’t need to practice them. Like, at all. Like one day you just drag your keyboard or guitar (but never keytar) on stage and just rock it out for millions of paying fans. Needless to say, I was a bit dismayed and frightfully bewildered as to just what it was he was talking about. FORTUNATELY we are provided with a video that explains EVERYTHING. Well, I mean, maybe it does. I started playing the YouTube file and against a backdrop of an elderly man wailing on the clarinet there is bright yellow blocked text that jams itself in your face. The text reads “CLARIPERU” in striking and insistent lettering, and as you reel from this attack you suddenly realize that the video you are about to watch is subtitled in some sort of language. Now, while this alone was enough to keep me from watching the video, I was also heavily distracted by how much the word CLARIPERU seems like CLARIPU which HAS TO BE some sort of POKEMON.

 

Is this the elusive and deadly CLARIPU?

 

 

Anyway, long-story short, he now knows how to practice the clarinet.

While I’m obligated to be happy and supportive of my brother at all times, I will not sit idly by and let his blog specifically and prejudicially attack my blog here at The Glass City. My forefathers wouldn’t stand for it (with their blogs), and neither will I.

Oh yes, the war is indeed on. A lot of you may be asking, “why”? Why are you so virtuous? Well the answer used to be good genes, but now that my brother has an award-winning blog, I don’t even know what to think. All I know is what my gut tells me, and aside from it telling me that 30 days straight of Ramen noodles has been an awesome idea, it’s telling me that I cannot let this whole blog thing stand.

Only time will tell who shall be the victor. Well, time and me. I will be the victor.

 

I have no idea what's going on in this poster. All I know is that I want to win.