Professor Richard Rijnvos richard.rijnvos@durham.ac.uk
Professor
Amérique du Nord - second part of GRAND ATLAS: représentation du monde universel en sept tableaux musicaux - for symphony orchestra
Rijnvos, Richard
Authors
Citation
Rijnvos, R. (2016). Amérique du Nord - second part of GRAND ATLAS: représentation du monde universel en sept tableaux musicaux - for symphony orchestra. [score]
| Other Type | Composition |
|---|---|
| Online Publication Date | Feb 2, 2017 |
| Publication Date | 2016 |
| Deposit Date | Sep 19, 2016 |
| Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1695902 |
| Additional Information | Duration: 15 minutes Additional Information: Amérique du Nord is the second part of GRAND ATLAS, a cycle in which each of the seven world continents is depicted in an orchestral composition. The work is an imaginary road movie, crisscrossing the United States of America, including a brief detour through Mexico midway. The numerous adventures along the way leave a motley collection of impressions: the base for a sound collage, the form of which seems to suggest the patchwork of the US states. After the starting shot in Alabama, the initially sunny journey leads us from Oklahoma to Washington State, where we get stuck in a noisy traffic jam and illegally hitchhike further on the back of a removal pickup truck. A taxi driver drops us off in lightheaded California, after which our wanderings continue eastwards for the time being. Many a hardship crosses our path: in Utah our car narrowly avoids plunging into a river, in Colorado we face a snowstorm, and in Arizona we lodge in a ghostly hotel. Despite all that, we manage to reach the East Coast without a scratch and race through the states of New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York. On the way we see metropoles and imposing skyscrapers, but also an abundance of historic monuments and natural scenery, such as Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and the cotton plantations in Georgia. Great shame about the hot air at the end of the yellow brick road, but fortunately it does not diminish the celestial climax near Devils Tower in Wyoming. It is in the state of Oregon where our crazy odyssey finally ends. Please note the following disclaimer: Amérique du Nord is a symphonic scherzo, full of musical puns, allusions and flashbacks; no mocking bird, shark or cuckoo was harmed during the making. |