Songs are perhaps our most basic musical expression. Though I have worked widely in the fields of opera and music theater, I had not until this last year worked with the song form as such. Writing the song cycle Songs from Liquid Days became for me truly a voyage of discovery.
I began by asking David Byrne to write words that I could then set to music. We had worked together once before, and I found it such an easy and natural collaboration that I thought of extending the process with an entire record of songs.
It seemed to me that the people best suited to help with the lyrics would, like David, be other songwriters. It was clear that they, more than anyone else, would understand the practical demands of setting words to music. The people I asked — Paul Simon, Suzanne Vega, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson— are, I feel, not only outstanding songwriters on their own but also lyricists whose poetry reflects individual styles and approaches to songwriting.
The words come first. From these I fashioned a set of six songs which, together, form a cycle of themes ranging from reflections on nature to classic romantic settings. After the music was written, I — along with producer Kurt Munkacsi and conductor Michael Riesman— began the long and difficult process of "casting" singers for the individual songs. We felt that the interpretation a singer brings to a song is an immense contribution to its character — contributing their own personality to the work perhaps more than any other performer.
All in all, Songs from Liquid Days has brought together quite an astonishing assortment of people, from the progressive Kronos String Quartet to singers Linda Ronstadt, Doug Perry and Janice Pendarvis and Bernard Fowler. Among them, they cover a fair range of the contemporary music practiced in our time, from experimental to rock to opera. Add to them the writers already mentioned and one might well ask, "What have they all got in common?"
For me, their commonality is that they are an uncommonly talented group of people — and about as diverse in personal style and practical approach to music— making as you're ever likely to find working together. I personally am very proud of my association with all these artists and, lastly, grateful to them for their contribution to this record.
Philip Glass
I began by asking David Byrne to write words that I could then set to music. We had worked together once before, and I found it such an easy and natural collaboration that I thought of extending the process with an entire record of songs.
It seemed to me that the people best suited to help with the lyrics would, like David, be other songwriters. It was clear that they, more than anyone else, would understand the practical demands of setting words to music. The people I asked — Paul Simon, Suzanne Vega, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson— are, I feel, not only outstanding songwriters on their own but also lyricists whose poetry reflects individual styles and approaches to songwriting.
The words come first. From these I fashioned a set of six songs which, together, form a cycle of themes ranging from reflections on nature to classic romantic settings. After the music was written, I — along with producer Kurt Munkacsi and conductor Michael Riesman— began the long and difficult process of "casting" singers for the individual songs. We felt that the interpretation a singer brings to a song is an immense contribution to its character — contributing their own personality to the work perhaps more than any other performer.
All in all, Songs from Liquid Days has brought together quite an astonishing assortment of people, from the progressive Kronos String Quartet to singers Linda Ronstadt, Doug Perry and Janice Pendarvis and Bernard Fowler. Among them, they cover a fair range of the contemporary music practiced in our time, from experimental to rock to opera. Add to them the writers already mentioned and one might well ask, "What have they all got in common?"
For me, their commonality is that they are an uncommonly talented group of people — and about as diverse in personal style and practical approach to music— making as you're ever likely to find working together. I personally am very proud of my association with all these artists and, lastly, grateful to them for their contribution to this record.
Philip Glass
1 comment:
thank you very much.
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