We are faced with a monumental work that is inspired by one of the most dramatic and most discussed themes in every field of the arts over the past hundred years: the sinking of the Titanic. A neo-classical and avant-garde piece created by a great composer and a series of excellent collaborators, it rightfully enters into this showcase
#buzz where
@ALFAMA covers another of my shameful gaps.
Gavin Bryars - The Sinking of the Titanic (Obscure, Island, 1975)
Gavin Bryars Ensemble - The Sinking of the Titanic (Les Disques du Crepuscole, 1990)
A minimalist opera by British composer Gavin Bryars inspired by the sinking of the transatlantic liner Titanic in 1912. Composed between 1969 and 1972, the work is now considered a classic in the realm of minimalist and ambient compositions in Britain and a landmark for many artists. Produced by Brian Eno, the work was released on Obscure and Island Records in 1975 and featured, among others, composers Michael Nyman, Kate St. John, and Steve Beresford. Consisting of two long compositions ("The Sinking of The Titanic" and "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet"), the album is a true neo-classical musical work with a strong emotional impact, filled with suggestions that evoke a dramatic imaginary while simultaneously providing a sense of profound calm, as if the end of what was then considered the pinnacle of technology was a kind of apocalypse: someone had turned off the light, and when it was turned back on, there was nothing left, only the waves of the sea that had covered everything that had been in the past.
I also listened to the re-edition of the work recorded between April 13 and 14, 1990, at the Printemps du Bourges festival in Belgium and released by the label Les Disques du Crepuscole. On that occasion, the piece was reworked to include background fragments of interviews with survivors and Morse code signals, noises of the ship colliding with the iceberg. Interestingly, the recording was made with two orchestras composed entirely of children. The final result is nonetheless evocative and much more traditional compared to the original work, which, in some way, through the vibrations of sound and the alterations created by the musicians' performances and vocal interventions, recreated initially more brutal and suffocating atmospheres and subsequently the sound of waves that gently swept everything away, bringing an ideal calm after the storm.
Ultimately, I would say that the original version is fundamental and definitely more beautiful than this revision, which is still interesting for its minimalist approach and emotional impact but less ingenious than the original version, which was carefully planned, crafted, and worked out in every detail with extraordinary musicians.
Gavin Bryars - The Sinking Of The Titanic (1975, Obscure)
