Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986) by John Adams (51-53)

When was Short Ride in a Fast Machine produced?

1986

What state is Mansfield in?

Massachusetts

What occured in summer 1986 in Mansfield?

A summer festival to honor the opening of a new outdoor amphitheater

What new amphitheater was being honored during the 1986 summer festival in Mansfield?

The Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts

What was the Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts renamed to in later years?

The Tweeter Center then the Comcast Center and now currently the Xfinity Center

Who commissioned Short Ride in a Fast Machine?

The Great Woods Festival organizers

What was Short Ride in a Fast Machine commissioned for?

The Summer Festival Mansfield 1986

The premiere of Short Ride in a Fast Machine was conducted by who?

Michael Tilson Thomas

Who performed the premiere of Adams fanfare for the summer festival?

The pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

When was John Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine premiered?

June 13 1986

Jason Scott Ladd is known as a what?

Scholar

What did Jason Scott Ladd discover regarding Short Ride?

He found that it was the most performed piece amongg any works composed after 1980 between fall 2003 and spring 2008

By what factor was Short Ride the most performed piece between 2003 and 2008?

Twice as much as the second place composition

An orchestra of what size is needed to perform Short Ride?

An enormous orchestra

Melodies and rhythms in Short Ride can be said to be what?>

Interweaving Sh

Short Ride uses aspects of what genre?

Minimalism

What does minimalism mean?

The work relies on a small # of musical materials that usually employ repeated patterns and are propelled by a constant pulse

What is a common misconception about minimalism?

That it means the work is uncomplicated, which is untrue as patterns in minimalist works may interlock in complex ways

What occurs in the first measure of Short Ride?

A solo high pitched wood block establishes a quick pulse

The pulse established by the wood block in the first measure of Short Ride is at what BPM?

152 BPM

What is a primary tool used by Adams in Short Ride?

Ostinatos

What effect did Adams call for? What label did he use to achieve this effect?

A “delirious” effect; he labeled the score “Delirando”

Is the term Delirando commonly or uncommonly used?

Uncommonly

What does one commentator suggest the piece should feel full of?

“incoherent sensations… without connections”

The ostinatos begin after what?

3 strikes of the wood block in the first measure which establish the tempo

What synthesizer plays 3 pitches in a repeating pattern?

Synth 2

What notes does Synth 2 play in the opening of Short Ride? In what pattern?

EDA, played in an EDAD repeating pattern

What is the pulse of ostinato a?

3/2 meter

What are the intervals in ostinato a?

A perfect 5th between D and A and E and A

What is the harmony adams uses rather than common practice?

Quintal harmony

What does common practice emphasize intervals of?

Intervals of 3rds

What does quintal harmony emphasize intervals of?

5ths

Ostinato b utilizes what notes in what tpatterns?

DEA in a DEA pattern

Ostinabo b features what instruments?

Synth 1 and Clrs 1,3

What instruments makeup ostinato b’?

Clarinets 2 and 4

What notes and pattern makeup ostinato b’?

DEA again but this time in EAD order

The ostinato b’ rhythm is essentially ostinato b with what change?

The pattern is shifted over by an eighth note. DEADEA→ EADEAD

Ostinato b and b’ coincide with what pulses?

12 8 pulses

Short Ride’s use of various meters is called what?

Polymeter

Why do ostinato b and b’ feel as if they are in 12/8 even though they are in 3/2?

It takes 3 repetitions of the ostinatos before their first notes align with the beat again Os

Ostinato C is in what time signature?

¾

What instruments play ostinato C?

Trumpets 1-4

What occurs in ostinato C?

A beat of rest followed by 2 quarter note chords

What is the chord in ostinato C?

AED

What does adams attribute his “punchy accents” (ostinatos) to?

His early encounters with Duke Ellington

What did Adams grandfather do?

Opened a dance hall that many jazz groups visited

What exactly did Adams say regarding Ellington?

“The signature jabs and ‘bullets’ of the Ellington brass made an indelible impression on me, and now I hear them throughout my own orchestral works, from Short Ride…. To “Nixon in China”

Is there periods of relaxation in Short Ride?

No

The repetitiveness of the osstinatos typically make music seem what?

More familiar and safe

How does adams ensure Short Ride doesn;t become familiar with the ostinatos?

He alters features at unexpected moments

What alterations does Adams make to the ostinatos to provide variation?

He adds new instruments with new ostinatos or instruments that don;t play predictably, adds and subtracts occasional pitches and sometimes changes all pitches at same time

What is gating?

Changing all pitches simultaneously

Gating is applied to what and refers to what?

Electronic music and refers to switches that have the power to regulate (abruptly) the flow of the electric current

Was there a program or storyline provided to the orchestra fanfare?

No

What might the gates in Short Ride depict?

Clumsy gear shifts

What might the crescendos depict in SShort Ride?

Increasing roar of the “fast machine’s” engine

What is ambiguous about the ending of SHort Ride in its depiction of a story?

We are insure if the sudden finish means the journey completed safely or by hitting a wall

What instrument comes in after the wood block which reinforces the pulse?

The trumpets

Wha tnotes are added after the ostinatos?

F#, then C and G

What do the additional brass instruments added after the opening ostinatos do?

Play busier patterns

After the introduction of busy patterns in the brass what do the high woodwinds do?

Perform quick decorative descents

After the introduction of the high woodwinds what occurs?

Numerous instruments stop playing then start to rejoin the ensemble

What occurs towards the end of the first A section ?

A glokenspiel is audible and then the G and C pitches which were added earlier shift to G# and B

The shift of G and C at the end of the first A section to G# and B is what harmony?

E major

What happens at the start of the B section?

A gate moves the harmony to Bb major with the DEA ostinatos still active and intermittent bass drum notes

After the beginning of the B section what occurs?

New harmonies are added to build dissonance

What concludes the B section?>

A quick large cresendo

What occurs at the start of the C section?

A gate in which pitches are reduced to Eb and Bb, while the lower pitched woodblock continues to pulse, but a new rhythmic idea occurs in low instruments

The new rhythmic idea in low instruments in the C section includes what intervals?

All notes of chromatic scales but they are introduced bit by bit in the rhythm

What occurs after the initial start of the C section?

Thean increase in a busy trumpet and more horn interjections

After the increasing busy trumpet and horn interjections what occurs in the C section?

High piccolo becomes more prominent H

How does the C section end?

A timpani roll and crescendo

How does the second A section begin?

Return of the HIGH woodblock and quick piccolo insertions

What occurs at the end of the second A section?

A subito (sudden) drop in dynamic and the ostinatos in DEA pitches return

What occurs in the D section?

The woodblock stops and 3 new simultaneous melodies in the trumpet, horn/cellos, and low brass/contrabassoon with ostinatos in backround

What instruments are grouped together for the 3 new meodies in the D section>

contrabassoons and low brass, and horns and cellos. The trumpets have their own melody.

What occurs in the Coda?

Fanfare-like trumpets and trombones

How does Short Ride end?

An abrupt ending on the D major triad