Shared Meanings in the Film Music of Philip Glass: Music, Multimedia and Postminimalism

240 Pages·2015·3.058 MB·English

by  Tristian Evans

Shared MeaningS in the FilM
MuSic oF PhiliP glaSS
I Lucy, Dad ac er cof am Mam
Shared Meanings in the Film
Music of Philip glass
Music, Multimedia and Postminimalism
triStian evanS
Bangor University, Wales, UK
© tristian evans 2015
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
tristian evans has asserted his right under the copyright, designs and Patents act, 1988, to
be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing limited ashgate Publishing company
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
evans, tristian.
Shared meanings in the film music of Philip Glass : music, multimedia and
postminimalism / by tristian evans.
pages cm
includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–1–4094–3329–3 (hardcover : alk. paper) – ISBN 978–1–4094–3330–9
(ebook) – ISBN 978–1–4724–0357–5 (epub)
1. glass, Philip. Motion picture music. 2. glass, Philip – criticism and interpretation.
3. Motion picture music – 20th century – history and criticism. 4. Motion picture
music – 21st century – history and criticism. 5. Minimal music – history and
criticism.
i. title.
Ml410.g398e93 2015
781.5’42092–dc23 2015007102
ISBN 9781409433293 (hbk)
ISBN 9781409433309 (ebk – PDF)
ISBN 9781472403575 (ebk – ePUB)
Bach musicological font developed by © Yo tomita
Printed in the united Kingdom by henry ling limited,
at the dorset Press, dorchester, dt1 1hd
Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Music Examples ix
Foreword by Michael Riesman xi
Acknowledgements xv
Introduction 1
1 Glass, Postminimalism and the Media: Initial Questions and
Contexts 5
2 ‘The Satisfaction of a Drive’: Postminimal Music and the
Advertising Media 23
3 Postmodern Unfoldings? Narrative, Temporality and Repetition
in Postminimal Music 53
4 ‘Notes on a Soundtrack’: Reading Glass’s Recent Film Scores 83
5 Metamorphic Meanings in Glass’s Intertextual Soundtracks 99
6 This Is (Not) a Soundtrack: Dracula the Movie or Music Drama? 125
7 Existential Conflict in Naqoyqatsi, Book of Longing and
Watchmen 147
8 Conclusions: Reviewing Concepts and Approaches 171
Bibliography 191
Electronic Resources 205
Selected Discography 207
Selected Filmography 209
Artworks 213
Index 215
This page has been left blank intentionally
List of Figures
1.1 An outline of postminimal characteristics 8
1.2 Selected filmography 19
2.1 Cook’s ‘Three basic models of multimedia’ (see Cook 1998, p. 99) 25
2.2 BMW commercial transcript 27
2.3 Deleuze and Foucault’s forms of mediation (see Deleuze 2004,
pp. 36–40, 330; Foucault 1974, pp. 17–24) 34
2.4 Golf commercial inventory 39
2.5 Distribution of musical units in ‘Don’t Blow It’ from Solaris 41
2.6 Summary of mediating relationships in the Mondeo and
Golf commercials 48
2.7 Revised multimedia model 49
3.1 Musico-visual proportions in Crossroads 64
3.2 Semiotic framework of ‘Bikini’ from Three Tales 66
3.3 Structural layout of ‘Bikini’ from Three Tales 67
3.4 Distribution of text and speech in ‘Bikini’ from Three Tales
(scenes 1–3) 68
3.5 Distributional diagram of motivic material in Harpers Bizarre 80
4.1 Common characteristics in Glass’s music 85
4.2 Functions of Glass’s music for film 96
5.1 Cross-references in Persichetti’s music 106
5.2 Glass’s filmic intertextuality 110
5.3 Summary of affective types 121
6.1 Multimodal transcription of ‘Excellent Mr Renfield’ from Dracula 133
6.2 Intratextual associations in Dracula 143
8.1 Synthesis of key theoretical concepts 175
8.2 Summary of Glass’s influences 180
8.3 Synthesized framework for multimedia analysis 184
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List of Music Examples
2.1 Transcription of ‘Pruit Igoe’ from Koyaanisqatsi (extract) 28
2.2 Transcription of ‘Don’t Blow It’ from Solaris (extract) 41
4.1 Reduction of ‘The Illusionist’ from The Illusionist 86
4.2 Reduction of ‘The History’ from Notes on a Scandal (extract) 87
4.3 Reduction of ‘Invitation’ from Notes on a Scandal 87
4.4 Reduction of ‘Zoe & Kate Watch Video’ from No
Reservations (extract) 89
4.5 Reduction of ‘Zoe Goes to the Restaurant’ from No Reservations
(extract) 89
4.6 Transcription of ‘Barbara’s House’ from Notes on a Scandal
(extract) 90
4.7 Reduction of ‘Life Itself’ from Roving Mars (extract) 93
4.8 Transcription of ‘Opportunity vs. Spirit’ from Roving
Mars (extract) 93
4.9 Transcription of ‘Opening Titles’ from Roving Mars (extract) 94
5.1 Transcription of ‘Heroes’ from Symphony No. 4 (extract) 103
5.2 Reduction of Metamorphosis Two (extract) 111
5.3 Reduction of Mad Rush (extract) 112
5.4 Reduction of ‘Façades’ from Glassworks (extract) 115
5.5 Transcription of ‘Enter Vivian’ from In the Summer House
(extract) 118
5.6 Transcription of ‘Mr Solares’ Picnic Lunch’ from In the Summer
House (extract) 119
6.1 Transcription of ‘Carriage Without a Driver’ from Dracula
(extract) 130
6.2 Transcription of ‘The Crypt’ motif from Dracula 131
6.3 Transcription of ‘The Castle’ from Dracula (extract) 132
6.4 Transcription of ‘In His Cell’ from Dracula (extract) 135
6.5 Transcription of ‘In His Cell’ from Dracula (extract) 135
6.6 Transcription of ‘Lucy’s Bitten’ from Dracula (extract) 135
6.7 Transcription of ‘Lucy’s Bitten’ from Dracula (extract) 137
6.8 Transcription of ‘Women in White’ from Dracula (extract) 141
6.9 Transcription of ‘Mina on the Terrace’ from Dracula (extract) 144
6.10 Metamorphosis Two (extract) 144