Well, I think it is Romantic!

Rob MacKillop

Edinburgh Correspondent

I need this kind of music every now and then. And, yes, I do think it romantic :) Not sure if Susan does, however!

The compositional technique is called Serialism. Each of the 12 semitones is used to compose a Tone Row - a row of notes. Each of them is then given the number 1 to 12. It is then written out again backwards, upside down, and upside down backwards. A lot of thought goes into the original Tone Row, as it generates all the others.
When composing, you start with the first note, then proceed to use all the 12 notes before moving on to another row. You are free to write the notes in any octave, higher or lower. You can stack them up in chords. Very often composers use erratic rhythms as well.
To me it is like a primeval swamp, bursting with life. You never know where the next bubble is going to burst.

I doubt if I could take an hour of this, but 90 seconds is fine! I hope you like it. It's great fun to play.
 
Thanks, Brian. Maybe you don't have to get it? We can accept music like this more readily when it is an accompaniment to a film or experimental cartoon. Remember the original film about a New York train, the Pelham something or other, which had a bomb on it which would explode if it went below a certain speed level? Great film. The music for that, few would have noticed, was serial in structure. Very similar.
 
Thanks, Brian. Maybe you don't have to get it? We can accept music like this more readily when it is an accompaniment to a film or experimental cartoon. Remember the original film about a New York train, the Pelham something or other, which had a bomb on it which would explode if it went below a certain speed level? Great film. The music for that, few would have noticed, was serial in structure. Very similar.
So they used romantic music in that film ;)
I get the music, even though I rarely listen too music these days. Not sure why that is, maybe we are over saturated by it a little bit. Good to see your fine self there though.
 
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