Saturday, 18 July 2015

Fellow artists inspired by Thomas Cole's "The Course of Empire" - Nell Shaw Cohen, Composer, "The Course of Empire"

FELLOW ARTISTS

INSPIRED BY THOMAS COLE'S

"THE COURSE OF EMPIRE" 



NELL SHAW COHEN 




Brooklyn based Nell Shaw Cohen made five compositions based on "The Course of Empire". 

Under the same title, and composed in 2008, each composition lasts a few minutes each. 





The first composition "The Savage State" is based on the Medieval motets done in chanting. 


It is a moody piece with a wavering tone symbolising in my opinion the stirring of nature. 


With higher melody rising in tone as the bass tone does, suggest certain natural phenomena. 


The dawning of the sun, the stirring of the clouds of the storm being pushed aside by said sun. 


There is the movement of limbs of trees by birds perching, or of flowers bobbing in the wind. 


Other images it conjures up is a deer raising its head from where it has been grazing to look. 


The wavering tone also suggests the stealthiness of the hunter attempting to hunt said deer. 


The piece is altogether quite moody, emotional, oscillating between melancholy and sanguine. 





The second composition "The Arcadian or Pastoral State" is based on Renaissance dance music. 


The course eases into another wavering but in this case a much higher more lively tune. 


It suggests the melodic dancing of people in a happy state, such as the women in the painting. 


It also suggests a carefree and sense of harmony with nature, like the young boy drawing. 


It suggests an agreeableness with nature and genuinely positive attitude towards the day. 


The music suits the painting very much in that is shows a pleasant although not stale approach. 


The constant wavering of the tune up and down suggests the range of emotions. 


Like birds bobbing on branches, or trees wavering in the winds, or sheep moving in herds. 


It could accompany the house with its rising smoke or the man ploughing his field. 


The sunny disposition of the dance music also suggests the sunniness of the weather as well. 





The third composition "The Consummation of Empire" is based on Baroque Orchestral music.

This is much more seriousness, seeming to launch into a richly orchestral classical piece.

The piece seems almost intrusive, as if this music is being pushed in front of the piece.

This to me suggests almost a ceremonial moment following a procession of a king or priest.

The musical overlays suggest a sense of dance, a presence of authority and high culture.

The more classical notes seem to also capture the serious yet still festive notions of the people.

However with this festiveness and ceremony, there is still a dark underlying current in this piece.

To me it much suggests the procession on the causeway in Cole's painting and its audience.




The fourth composition "Destruction" is what Cohen calls "Bartok meets Led Zeppelin".

This piece also charges forward, but is much more chaotic, repetitive and rising in tension.

It suggests an almost frenetic pace of change, like the stirring up of storms and fire.

The piece then surges forward suggesting the ambush of violence and chaos by the attackers.

There is also a melancholic moodiness suggesting a sense of woe and overall sadness.

The world of high culture comes to an end as the piece settles onto what appears an end.

But this is only the eye of the storm, and again the music surges and swells up into being.

These risings and falling out of notes and volume suggest the aftermath effects of it all.

Like ripples in a pond or the struggling of a drowning person trying to reach the surface.

Only for silence to finally fall upon the drowner and we come to the end with a great quiet.



The fifth composition "Desolation" is based on contemporary ahistorical, abstract music.

Seeping in from the quiet the piece is overall moody and almost creepy in its appearance.

Like a long mist or darkness creeping in with a wavering tone suggesting nature again.

The notes stretch on in as the moodiness does not let up, suggesting the spread of night.

The wavering moodiness is again to suggest nature fully taking control of the landscape.

There is some light moments where it appears the highs and lows of experience are felt.

The piece then lowers and becomes more simple, suggesting perhaps almost a requiem.

This is a piece that seems lonely and still stirring into being as it comes with society's end.

There is again a darkness with the moodiness, almost a muddling of feelings at low notes.

The notes however do stretch in long melodic notes net not harmonic almost medieval again.

Like the medieval motets, yet intersperced with what may be leftovers of previous eras.

Until it is all finally winding down and easing into another segue into silence and darkness.



In all, Nell Shaw Cohen's work captures the mood and atmosphere of the paintings.

She almost tries to make it seem like she has represented its lighting and form of weather.

In a sense she is an artist with great variety in her sources and inspirations for her works.

I wonder personally what it would be like if Nell Shaw Cohen and Mr Hunter met one day.



I have tried to contact Nell Shaw Cohen regarding this blog/novel.

I have not yet been able to receive a reply from her, probably due to randomness of email.


In order to permit others to find out about her work, please go to the following page:



http://nellshawcohen.com/index.html



Her five compositions based on "The Course of Empire" by Thomas Cole is on this page:



http://nellshawcohen.com/music_chamber.html#empire




There is also information regarding the notes based on her compositions on this page:


http://beyondthenotes.org/artmusic/empire/





Friday, 10 July 2015

Artists which led to The Course of Empire - Verses on the Prospect of planting arts and learning in America - Bishop George Berkeley



VERSES

ON THE

PROSPECT OF PLANTING ARTS AND LEARNING IN AMERICA




The Muse, disgusted at an age and clime, 

Barren of every glorious theme, 

In distant lands now waits a better time, 

Producing subjects worthy fame: 



In happy climes, where from the genial sun, 

And virgin earth such scenes ensue, 

 The force of art by nature seems undone, 

And fancied beauties by the true: 



In happy climes, the seat of innocence, 

Where nature guides and virtue rules, 

Where men shall not impose for truth and sense, 

The pedantry of courts and schools: 



There shall be sung another golden age, 

The rise of empire and of arts, 

The good and great inspiring epic rage, 

The wisest heads and noblest hearts, 



Not such as Europe breeds in her decay:

Such as she bred when fresh and young, 

 When heavenly flame did animate her clay, 

By future poets shall be sung. 



Westward the course of empire takes its way, 

The four first acts already past, 

A fifth shall close the drama with the day, 

Time's noblest offspring is the last.  


BISHOP GEORGE BERKELEY

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

Fellow artists inspired by Thomas Cole's "The Course of Empire" - Mr Hunter

FELLOW ARTISTS

INSPIRED BY THOMAS COLE'S

"THE COURSE OF EMPIRE" 

MR HUNTER 





This is the second album of jamband Mr Hunter, inspired by Thomas Cole's "The Course of Empire".

With five dynamically different tracks, each based on one of the five paintings in the series, Mr Hunter provides a contemporary and particularly fresh American view of Thomas Cole's ideas he wished to depict in these paintings, the songs written by lead guitarist Chris Marcus.


The first song "The Savage State" is a positive, upbeat rock song basically talking about the freedoms of life in general, that connected with the savage state seems to suggest to me that rights of freedom are as natural as the world around us, which makes a good nod towards the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence.


The second song "The Arcadian or Pastoral state" is a more romantic approach to the ideals of the land of "arcadia" a connection of man and nature working in unity through farming and domestication, creating in ways a paradise, a new Garden of Eden, which may also have links to the Mormon ideas of America being one of the locations of the Garden of Eden according to this recently created religion. It has a long romantic connection to the land, in a way that sounds almost country and western, which is in tune with the western being the modernised version of a pastoral.


The third song "Consummation of Empire" is a more funky jazz-like rendition of protest against the rise of American Imperialism, with debt and military forces piling up, ultimately saying in its own lyrics "This empire's gone too far". With the modern idea of American Imperialism still a major issue with many countries today, particularly in this age of Globalization, the fact that Americans themselves feel critical about their government nods back to Thomas Cole himself and his criticism of the Jacksonites creating a more imperialistic world back in the 1820s and 1830s. But the fact that Americans criticise their government's imperialistic actions under freedom of speech and freedom of the press is itself a unique American freedom which is not just to criticise but even burn the American Flag if an individual felt compelled to do so. Not that I'm saying Mr Hunter is anywhere near this extremity of behaviour, but in light of development of American society since Thomas Cole's time, I find it extremely relevant that this criticism continues in order to make a more free American society.


The fourth song "Destruction" begins as a melodic almost ballad-like piano before becoming a now more darker serious bluesy-rock ballad, with the lamenting lyrics about the potential downfall of American Civilization with particular interest in the effects upon the next generation. This almost protest in a post Occupy 2011 movement, and the aftermath of the 2008 GFC, we see the sadness of those who have lost their homes, lost their family through the War on Terror, and a loss of meaning through global capitalist materialism and consumerism, that America's future could well indeed be very bleak, and that people needed to try a new avenue, speaking to me of not only American dependency on oil, and attempts to change it like The Venus Project, or other recent movements like Zeitgeist, or 911 Truth Movement trying to change American imperialistic ideas before it's too late.



The fifth song "Desolation" is an acoustic guitar, marching drum and organ requiem for a country that has fallen. It's guitar seems to suggest the Western roots, organs it's Gospel and religious roots, the drums its military might, the piano its art, the lyrics its people, giving a funeral ode for a country and in doing so ask for repentance and forgiveness, and what will the next generation do in this world. The song speaks of a possible ending for an otherwise great nation and what one day may be a choice between that and a return to going back to Arcadia, which to me speaks of a more sustainable relationship of America to not only nature in general, but with its own inner nature and goals and those of collective humanity.


In all, this is a brilliant and moving composition and performance of contemporary music by a modern jamband Mr Hunter. I'm sure that Americans and people of all nations will want to listen to this, not only as a recognition of history, but perhaps the chance for us all to change our ways before its too late.

- Review and personal interpretations are the thoughts of Matthew David Bowron and may not be those of Mr Hunter.

For those who wish to find out more look at: http://mrhunterband.com/the-course-of-empire-2/

And look for Mr Hunter on YouTube to see and hear a recorded performance of the album and hear recorded versions of these songs mentioned above along with works from their first album The First Chapter.

To find out more about Chris Marcus and his ideas go to www.arcadiaeconomics.com

Tuesday, 9 June 2015

The Course of Empire Novel - Cover Page



 






Matthew David Bowron



THE COURSE OF EMPIRE 



an ensemble of stories




Inspired by the paintings of Thomas Cole (1801 - 1848)