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Requiem Songs: for the vicitms of nationalism
Requiem Songs for the victims of nationalism (1993)
lyrics by Ed Sanders, Neil B. Rolnick and from traditional folk songs
Bosnia's Mountains (1:55)
Deep Is The Sea/The Bee (4:59)
Amy Fradon & Leslie Ritter, vocals · Todd Reynolds, violin
Harvey Sorgen, percussion & sampling · Neil B. Rolnick, samples & processing
Max programming by John J.A. Jannone
Andrew Sterman, flute & tenor saxophone · Todd Reynolds, violin · Steve Rust, bass
Harvey Sorgen, percussion · Neil B. Rolnick, synthesizer & prepared piano
Requiem Songs & Screen Scenes published & copyright © 1993, 1995 by Neilnick Music (BMI).
This is the 10th recording of my music to be released commercially. All the previous recordings were in some way focused on me as a composer of "computer music." And it certainly is true that I make extensive use of computers in every aspect of my music: I perform on synthesizers interfaced with computers, I edit my scores on a computer, I edit the tapes which turn into CDs on a computer, and in Screen Scenes I even use a computer to create a mobile score, which changes for each performance.
But I recently had an experience which seems to repeat itself with increasing frequency. I was visiting Tokyo, and was being introduced to someone who did not know my work by two people who did know me and my music. The first friend introduced me as a composer of computer music, then the other friend added, "But his music doesn't sound like computer music."
I don't know what "computer music" is supposed to sound like. I suppose that neither of the two large works on this disc sounds much like computer music, because what you hear are musicians singing and playing. The fact that the computer is my instrument is really besides the point. The point being the music, and the ideas and feelings which I can really only express musically.
In Requiem Songs, my concerns are political and humanitarian. And in Screen Scenes, my central focus is on creating a flexible and free-flowing performance in which I can combine the control over form and materials which I want as a composer, with the intensity and spontaneity of improvisational playing.
Requiem Songs - for the victims of nationalism
Political music is not necessarily effective. About six months after the first performance of Requiem Songs, I was invited to perform the work in the US House of Representatives in Washington DC, as a means of focusing concern on the human ramifications of the continuing war in the Balkans. Not a lot of Congressional Representatives showed up that afternoon. And judging by the war which has continued with increasing ferocity for the last three years, my efforts did not have any significant effect. However, I don't know any other, more effective way to make my political views heard than through my music. And even if my appearance in Congress had no measurable effect on a complex situation, I'm also sure that I would never have had even that opportunity to express my concerns except through my music.
Requiem Songs was begun about two years after I returned from a four month stay in the former Yugoslavia. It was originally to be an upbeat piece, using some of the musical ideas I had collected during my time in the Balkans, but the advent of the war in Croatia and Bosnia left me unable to complete the commission as I had originally planned it. It seemed like the culture which I had known briefly was dying, and the appropriate musical response was to write a requiem for it. I briefly toyed with the idea of combining parts of the various liturgies used in the Balkans as source material for the work. However, as I focused more on the nationalistic conflicts which seemed to be springing up throughout eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in the wake of the collapse of communism, I found myself thinking more and more that this was not about Bosnians and Serbs, but really about all people who see their own national identity as requiring the annihilation of people with another national or ethnic identity. The problem is not limited to victims of Serb or Croat aggression, but rather to the victims of nationalism throughout the world.
The problem is not simple: certainly pride in one's national heritage and a sense of cultural identity is important to all people. However,
there's a point beyond which national and ethnic pride seem to deconstruct into an insane hatred for people who don't share that identity. It's not unique to Eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union, either. This kind of thinking really has no boundaries, with regards to geography or religion or right/left wing political orientation. I don't understand it, nor do I know how to combat such a deadly madness. Like the cellist in the next to last song, these songs are my only weapons.
Musically, the songs each have their origins in traditional village songs from different parts of the Balkan peninsula, including Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia, Istria, Croatia and Albania. Both words and music have been reworked and changed to fit the context of this piece. Some remain quite recognizable from their origins, while others have been altered so that their origins are no longer apparent.
For someone who is familiar with the musical sources of these songs, the ways in which they've been altered and juxtaposed may be shocking, For example, the song which appears here as Bosnia's Mountains is really a reworking of a women's a capella work song from a rural Serbian village. And the song which appears here as Deep Is The Sea is from a Croatian song, which would never mention the hills of Sarajevo or the fields of Kosovo, which are in Bosnia and Serbia, respectively. But that, of course, is just the point.
Screen Scenes is not about anything political, but simply about how we perform music. One of my continuing musical interests over the years has been to find new ways to work with improvisation. I love the kinds of spontaneity and imagination which seem to appear when good improvisers play, and the depth with which ensembles must listen to each other in improvisational situations. On the other hand, as a composer, I also tend to have very specific ideas about how I want a piece of music to sound, how it should develop, how it should be structured, etc. So the problem is: how do I create a work in which I keep the kind of control which is important to me, while giving the musicians the kind of freedom they require for improvisational interaction. Screen Scenes is one answer.
To perform this work, the five musicians read their parts off of video monitors. The screens provide each musician with a melodic "focus" for their improvisation, and a text instruction for how they function in the ensemble and in relation to the given melody at any given moment. Each screen is visible for between 10 seconds and 30 seconds, and then is replaced by new melodic material and new instructions. Before each performance (or even each rehearsal) I re-compose the work by editing a "PlayList" in which I change the melodic material, the text instructions, and the timings, so that the musicians can never know exactly how the piece will develop in any given performance.
What they can know from one performance to the next is the basic structural thinking behind the piece, and the 48 melodies which serve as the musical basis of the piece. The melodies for the piece are grouped into sets of six related melodies, and I use two of these sets in each PlayList, giving a total of 12 different melodies for each performance. Each PlayList lasts between 8 and 15 minutes, and is divided into a series of "Scenes" - from which the piece takes its name. Scenes identify musical gestures and textures, such as canons, solos, duets, slow and sustained sections, or sections moving between simple statements of the melody and a sort of chaos in which all players are in their own tempi and their own keys. In re-composing the PlayLists for each performance, I use the same kinds of musical and aesthetic decision-making process I do in a more "standard" composition. But rather than write down the specific notes, I'm writing down a kind of short hand set of instructions, which are still specific enough to direct the performers, but which permits considerable freedom in choosing what to actually play.
The four PlayLists on this recording were recorded in a single recording session, from four different PlayLists which I had constructed the day before the session. The four PlayLists each use a different set of 12 melodies, so that all of the 48 possible melodies are represented in the recording. Similarly, I made use of all the various types of Scenes, spread out across the four PlayLists, so that all the possible types of Scenes are represented in the recording.
Like a good jazz performance, the ensemble knows the general nature of the music before we play, but none of us knows exactly what we're going to play, nor how we're going to relate to each other musically, until the performance actually begins. It makes the music a continuing adventure, and hopefully that adventure is communicated the audience as well.
Lyrics by Ed Sanders, Neil B. Rolnick and from traditional folk songs
These songs are for the victims.
These songs are for Serbs and Croats,
For Muslims and Catholics,
For Bosnians and Montenegrins.
These songs are for Azerbaijanis.
These songs are for Armenians,
Palestinians and for Israelis.
These songs are for Kosovo.
These songs are for Albanians,
For Greeks and for Macedonians.
These songs are for the victims.
Do you know sister, where I grew up? Ah—
In Bosnia's mountains, drinking raw milk. Ah—
Picking flowers in Bosnia's mountains. Ah—
We are the maidens of Bosnia's mountains. Ah—
Fields of flowers, fields of colors,
Pick red roses, pass them among us. Ah—
Let's talk, my sisters. Ah—
Now the fields of Bosnia's mountains
Flow with a different red.
Gorom idu! Ethnic cleansing!
The wedding party goes singing
Goes singing through the mountain woods.
The horses stop. Everyone dances,
Wearing embroidered hoods.
Gorom idu! Ethnic cleansing!
Oh, beautiful wedding party,
Why exhaust your horses prancing?
Why are you drinking? Why are you dancing?
The bride you were bringing was killed last night.
Gorom idu! Ethnic cleansing!
4. Deep Is The Sea / The Bee
Deep is the sea near Omis.
Wide are the fields near Pristina.
Green are the woods near Plitvice.
High are the hills near Sarajevo.
Hey, you bee buzzing from the lime tree.
I was blessed to have you near my house.
You always buzzing oh so free.
Bee, sweet honey bee, gone from my garden.
Gone, gone my hard working bee.
Gone, gone from my lime tree.
Hey, this has brought me, brought me to the grave.
Hey, o ni ne na, o ni ne na, o ni ne na.
Hey, why are you so still? You're so still. Ne na!
Hey, now I'll never, never see you dancing.
Hey, o ni ne na, o ni ne na, o ni ne na.
Hey, now you'll never dance, never dance. Ne na!
Hey, now I'll never, never see you smiling.
Hey, o ni ne na, o ni ne na, o ni ne na.
Hey, now you'll never smile, never smile. Ne na!
Hey, now I'll never, never hear you singing.
Hey, o ni ne na, o ni ne na, o ni ne na.
Hey, now you'll never sing, never sing. Ne na!
Hey, why are you so still? You're so still. Ne na!
Pure, pure & clean, ethnic cleansing.
Pure, pure & clean, ethnic cleansing.
Home is a ghost! It's gone and it's lost!
Home is a ghost! It's gone and it's lost!
To buy this house we saved for years.
To buy this house we save for years.
Told us to lie on the floor.
He said that Muslims have to leave.
It's time for Muslim mothers to grieve.
He said that Muslims have to leave.
It's time for Muslim mothers to grieve.
Home is a ghost! It's gone and it's lost!
Home is a ghost! It's gone and it's lost!
My grandfather tilled these fields with his hands.
He ploughed and planted and loved the land.
Told us to lie on the floor.
He said that Serbs would have to leave.
It's time for Serbian fathers to grieve.
He said that Serbs would have to leave.
It's time for Serbian fathers to grieve.
Home is a ghost! It's gone and it's lost!
Home is a ghost! It's gone and it's lost!
The soldiers burst into our beds.
They raped and cut, we cried and bled.
It was a new crime, from and old war.
And watched us die on the floor.
And now it's time for us to leave.
It's time for all the world to grieve.
And now it's time for us to leave.
It's time for every mother to grieve.
Home is a ghost! It's gone and it's lost!
Home is a ghost! It's gone and it's lost!
There is a man who plays the cello
Out on the streets of Sarajevo.
In spite of shells that fall, he plays.
In spite of shells that fall, he plays.
Sets up his chair, unpacks his cello,
Amidst the snipers and the shelling.
In spite of shells that fall, he plays.
In spite of shells that fall, he plays.
The evening news brings lights and cameras.
He says he's playing for his city.
While life goes on he'll play his song.
His only weapon is his song.
He may be silenced by a sniper.
He may be silenced by the winter.
His only weapon is his song.
While life goes on he'll play his song.
These songs are for the victims.
These songs are for Serbs and Croats,
For Muslims and Catholics,
For Bosnians and Montenegrins.
These songs are for Azerbaijanis.
These songs are for Armenians,
Palestinians and for Israelis.
These songs are for Kosovo.
These songs are for Albanians,
For Greeks and for Macedonians.
These songs are for the victims.
Requiem Songs - for the victims of nationalism
Recorded and mixed by Suzanne Kapa at Dreamland Recording, West Hurley, NY, Aug. 17, 1995. Remixed by Scott Petito at NRS Recording, Kingston, NY, Sept. 8, 1995. Produced by Neil B. Rolnick. Co-produced by Harvey Sorgen. Post-production by Neil B. Rolnick at CCMMT, Kunitachi College of Music and at Crystal Village, Tokyo. Mastered to DAT Nov. 1, 1995.
Recorded and mixed by Scott Petito at NRS Recording, Kingston, NY, Aug. 31 & Sept. 8, 1995. Post-production by Neil B. Rolnick at CCMMT, Kunitachi College of Music and at Crystal Village, Tokyo. Mastered to DAT Nov. 1, 1995. Produced by Neil B. Rolnick.
The front and back cover art is by Patricia A. Abt. The photo of Neil Rolnick is by Gisela Gamper. The 48 melodies used in Screen Scenes were composed during a one month residency at the Rockefeller Foundation's Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy in October & November 1994. All works are published and copyright © 1993, 1995 by Neilnick Music.
Neil B. Rolnick (b. 1947)
Neil Rolnick has been active internationally as a composer and performer of computer music since the late 1970s. He has appeared in concerts throughout North America, Europe and Japan, and his music has been released on nine previous recordings on the Bridge, O.O. Discs, Cuneiform, Nonesuch, Centaur, CRI and 1750 Arch Labels. He has received many awards for his work, including those from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fulbright Commission, the New York State Council on the Arts and the Cary Charitable Trust.
Neil Rolnick is Chair of the Arts Department and Director of the iEAR Studios at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, NY. At Rensselaer he was responsible for the creation of a unique new Master of Fine Arts program in Electronic Arts, which focuses on a truly integrated approach to time-based art and performance with the electronic media.
Instruction screen from Screne Scenes, Play List 1. Clockwise from top left, instruction boxes are for woodwind, violin, bass, percussion and synthesizer. (Screen design and Max programming by John J.A. Jannone.)
Requiem Songs for the victims of nationalism (1993)
lyrics by Ed Sanders, Neil B. Rolnick and from traditional folk songs
Bosnia's Mountains (1:55)
Deep Is The Sea/The Bee (4:59)
Amy Fradon & Leslie Ritter, vocals · Todd Reynolds, violin
Harvey Sorgen, percussion & sampling · Neil B. Rolnick, samples & processing
Max programming by John J.A. Jannone
Andrew Sterman, flute & tenor saxophone · Todd Reynolds, violin · Steve Rust, bass
Harvey Sorgen, percussion · Neil B. Rolnick, synthesizer & prepared piano
Requiem Songs & Screen Scenes published and copyright © 1993, 1995 by Neilnick Music (BMI).
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