Central Concepts of Music – Group Assignment: Laura Casey, Livia Brash, Bryce Leske, Sang Hyeok Kim & Janice Jang
Finding meaning in Steve Reich’s ‘Desert Music’
As performed by the Canberra Song Company and Canberra Festival Camerata on Friday 20th May,
2011 – Australian Premiere of the ‘Chamber version’
The answers provided in this interview will only be used for educational purposes for this assignment and all
answers will remain anonymous.
Basics:
1. What was your role in Steve Reich’s ‘Desert Music’
Performer
Audience Member
Staff
2. Are you familiar with the poetry of William Carlos Williams, on which the vocal text was based?
Yes
No
3. Have you heard this piece before - either the full orchestral or recordings of the chamber version?
Yes
No
4. In this particular version of ‘Desert Music’, which did you think was more important in creating musical
meaning?
Instrumentation
Vocals
Instrumentation & Vocals
Vocals:
1. How would you rate the importance of the text in conveying meaning? (Tick)
Unimportant
1
Of little importance
2
Moderately important
Important
Very important
3
4
5
2. How would you rate the importance of the music in conveying meaning in this piece? (Tick)
Unimportant
1
Of little importance
2
Moderately important
Important
Very important
3
4
5
3. If you had access to the vocal text during the performance, do you believe your interpretation of the
meaning of ‘Desert Music’ would be altered?
Yes
No
4. How would you define the role of the vocalists in creating meaning within ‘Desert Music? :
Instrumentation:
1. Did you believe that the instrumentation helped create the idea of a musical ‘Desert’?
Yes
No
2. If yes, please explain your perception of how the instruments were able to do this
If no, please propose what changes you would make to create the idea of a musical ‘desert’
3. If you have heard the full orchestral version of this piece before, do you believe that the chamber
version has altered the meaning of the piece?
Yes
No
4. [Performers Only] What do you think your role was within the ensemble in terms of creating musical
meaning?
Composers notes and perceptions of musical meaning:
1. Reich intended the piece to be a psychological desert rather than a literal desert and relies on our own
associations with the desert (hallucinations, insanity, confronting one's thoughts) in order to create a
sense of meaning.
Did this piece challenge your "normal" thinking of this desert concept?
2. Reich set out to merge music with spirituality. Do you think he was successful?
Please explain your answer.
3. When you were listening to/ performing the piece, did you feel you were;
Fully aware and analysing what was going on musically
Interacting with the piece on a personal / emotional level
4. In movement III ; Reich included the following quote from Williams’ poetry to make a point regarding the
potential destruction of the planet from the testing of man-made weapons in deserts in Mexico;
'Man has survived hitherto because he was too ignorant to know how to realize his wishes. Now
that he can realize them, he must either change them or perish’
Composers Notes:
http://www.boosey.com/cr/music/Steve-Reich-The-Desert-Music/549
As a whole, what do you think Reich was trying to express in ‘Desert Music’?
5. Do you have any other comments on how this piece affects you personally?