Phuong Nguyen
Listening to the Music
Group Concert Report #2
Percussion Ensemble – Inuksuit (2009)
The second concert I attended in my life was Inuksuit by John Luther Adams, conducted by the University of Cincinnati CCM percussion ensemble and Percussion Group Cincinnati on Friday, September 26 2015. Inuksuit comes from the word Inuktitut, meaning “to act in the capacity of the human”. The performance was not similar to any other usual concert where the musicians perform on stage and the audiences sit down quietly in chairs listening to the music. The percussionists in this performance were walking around and playing with special instruments, making different kinds of noise and turning them into music.
The piece started slowly with the percussionists blowing into single-pitch horns, twirling rubber tubes of various sizes, rubbing sandpaper discs or using small rocks in a box to make different sounds. The musicians then walked around the CCM building instead of staying in the same position and continued playing the music. The sound in the beginning of the performance made me feel like being in a forest, where there were different sounds of wind blowing through trees and water running in river. After that, the sound got more intense with the combination of other instruments such as drum, gongs and sirens, making the music have different textures and tones at the same time. In addition, the music changed when I walked from one place to another, making the experience I am getting become unique compared to other listeners. In my opinion, the music in the middle of the performance changed to the sound of urban life, where there are building constructions going on and vehicles making traffic noise. However, the sounds were difficult for me to enjoy because it was extremely loud and high-pitch and personally, I could not find the melody of it.
In conclusion, the performance changed my opinion about music. Before, music to me was something that has melody, but Inuksuit is a proof that music can be just sounds, no matter it is beautiful or dreadful to the listener because it has a meaningful message behind it.
Listening to the Music
Group Concert Report #2
Percussion Ensemble – Inuksuit (2009)
The second concert I attended in my life was Inuksuit by John Luther Adams, conducted by the University of Cincinnati CCM percussion ensemble and Percussion Group Cincinnati on Friday, September 26 2015. Inuksuit comes from the word Inuktitut, meaning “to act in the capacity of the human”. The performance was not similar to any other usual concert where the musicians perform on stage and the audiences sit down quietly in chairs listening to the music. The percussionists in this performance were walking around and playing with special instruments, making different kinds of noise and turning them into music.
The piece started slowly with the percussionists blowing into single-pitch horns, twirling rubber tubes of various sizes, rubbing sandpaper discs or using small rocks in a box to make different sounds. The musicians then walked around the CCM building instead of staying in the same position and continued playing the music. The sound in the beginning of the performance made me feel like being in a forest, where there were different sounds of wind blowing through trees and water running in river. After that, the sound got more intense with the combination of other instruments such as drum, gongs and sirens, making the music have different textures and tones at the same time. In addition, the music changed when I walked from one place to another, making the experience I am getting become unique compared to other listeners. In my opinion, the music in the middle of the performance changed to the sound of urban life, where there are building constructions going on and vehicles making traffic noise. However, the sounds were difficult for me to enjoy because it was extremely loud and high-pitch and personally, I could not find the melody of it.
In conclusion, the performance changed my opinion about music. Before, music to me was something that has melody, but Inuksuit is a proof that music can be just sounds, no matter it is beautiful or dreadful to the listener because it has a meaningful message behind it.