Ten Thousand Birds – John Luther Adams (2014)
Thanks to the Rite of Summer concert series on Governors Island,
I heard this very interesting concert. A bit of history—the work was premiered
by Alarm Will Sound in St. Louis in 2014, if my online search is correct. I
only bring this up because there was no printed program. One had to scan a QR
code or go to one of several websites Not good for me.
As a result, my writings will be catch-as-catch-can. As explained
in the venue (Nolan Park, on Governors Island) the performers would be moving
about, sometimes of their own volition, and sometimes as ‘suggested’ in
programming notes.
I heard bird sounds presented by: French horn, clarinet, viola,
trombone, double bass, flute, violin, cello (who played standing up), trumpet,
bassoon, xylophone (on the porch of a building), piccolo, percussion blocks,
piano, (somehow I don’t think the helicopters were in the score), some
percussion-like bongos, tympani, (at one point, three string players flitted
through the performance space, like birds flitting through a meadow), marimbas
(plural), metallophone, oboe, piano, electronic keyboard … well ... you get my
drift. And their drift. They drifted throughout the performance space and
showed up in very strange spaces. As in, in your face spaces. For the record,
my guesses were pretty darned good.
As for the music itself, it was repetitive, as would be expected
for bird sounds. Toward the end, some new sounds were introduced, and they were
a welcome addition. But for the most part, the sounds just washed over the
audience, from odd areas, odd distances, and odd places. At one point a violinist
was in a tree (I’m not making this up, you know!). Toward the end, a live bird
started chirping. There were many smiles. One instrument that I asked about
after the performance was called a bullroarer. It’s wooden, on a string, but like
that plastic tube thing-y you swung around your head to make a woo-woo-woo
sound. This was more refined.
I’m pretty sure I will never hear this piece again. But if I
have the chance, I’ll jump at it. If you get the chance, jump!
ConcertMeister
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