My Glass is Half Full...

In, general I really love Phillip Glass' compositions and find them to be beautiful and emotionally affecting, even if they are not always affecting in a totally positive, calming way. In fact, watching the clip of Koyaanisqatsi was very interesting for me because I found that the music coupled with the images presented really disturbed me and made me extremely anxious. I think I agree with Rachel that in this case, his music seemed to amplify the mood I was already in. (On that note, I am finding it hard to concentrate on writing this while listening to Satyagraha again because I up more involved in the music than my own thought process....).

I think I am drawn to the music of Phillip Glass because of the way he creates such expansive works using such economic means. I am fascinated by the subtle changes in repeating patterns. His music often reminds me of watching a kaleidoscope (or something like this video) and I find it both trance-inducing and intellectually stimulating (I remember feeling extremely Zen - calm but focused - after seeing Satyagraha for the first time). There is something about the extended tension in his writing that really pulls my heart strings.

However, many classmates commented on the fact that they had trouble concentrating while watching the work and found their attention wandering away at various points. Perhaps we, as a culture or generation, simply don't possess the patience or attention span needed to fully appreciate this work?

Another thing that fascinates me about Glass' music is the way it lends itself to visual representation. As I talked about in my last post, I feel that his music is exceedingly effective in film. One point that became exceedingly clear through our discussions of staging the work, was the necessity most of us felt for a deeper connection between the visual material and the music in Satyagraha. It is as if, with a Glass work for the theater, the music and the staging must be so complimentary as to be interdependent - that one could not exist without the other - or each will detract from the other (this strikes me as a concept that is common to dance more than theater). I don't know that this could be said about many operas. I think that is another way in which Glass' pushes the metaphorical envelope.