March 13/14 Adams Commentary by Ale Miller
2009-02-12
John Adams is the most performed living composer and, in my opinion, also the most aesthetically gifted and technically accomplished of his generation. His 2002 work “On the Transmigration of Souls” is nothing short of astonishing. Adams was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic to write a piece honoring the victims of the 9/11 attacks in New York City. He responded with a work of such emotional transparency it represents a turning point in American music. It was rightly lauded with the Pulitzer Prize and numerous Grammy Awards. Yet the true power of the work lies in the live performances. In Grand Rapids, we are fortunate to be one of the first cities outside of New York to hear this masterpiece live.
As emotional as the music is, it may come across initially as unusual or foreign. There is not the strong line a listener typically counts on to propel a piece of music from start to finish. Instead, Adams conceived the work as a “memory space,” a kind of cathedral where audiences would be free to wander about and have time with their own thoughts. Many millions of people were affected by the 9/11 attacks, and they were each affected in a different, intensely personal way. So, in writing a piece in memory of the victims, Adams was careful to keep things abstract, in flux, and somewhat meterless, as if a familiar ghost were floating through the performance space and inhabiting the collective thoughts of the audience.
In addition to its musical elements, the piece also incorporates many surprising things. You will first notice as a listener how unmusical elements play an important role. Pre-recorded sounds of footsteps, sirens, and the reading of names by families and friends of the victims permeate the work. Also, an adult chorus, a children’s chorus, and a small ensemble of instruments playing a quarter-tone higher are added to the large orchestra. The words sung by the chorus are from the missing persons signs that became such an iconic symbol in the days following the attacks.
Throughout the piece there are recognizable quotes from Charles Ives’s “The Unanswered Question.” Sustained string chords represent silence or eternity while a solo trumpet asks the perennial question of existence. These quotes are the work’s guardian angel, floating in and out like clouds reshaping themselves on top of the musical fabric.
“On the Transmigration of Souls” is, at its heart, a spiritual journey. According to Adams, “Transmigration means ‘the movement from one place to another’ or ‘the transition from one state of being to another.’ But in this case I meant it to imply the movement of the soul from one state to another. And I don’t just mean the transition from living to dead, but also the change that takes place within the souls of those that stay behind, of those who suffer pain and loss and then themselves come away from that experience.”
As the sounds, words, and music comingle and build to the astounding climax, the chorus repeatedly chants, “Light! Light!” in what can only be described as a spiritual awakening and transformation. Since the piece intentionally avoids text with a solid narrative, what does this “light” mean? It will mean something different to everyone, but on a profound level it resonates the same. This may be the reason the work strikes such an emotional chord and relates so well to the events of 9/11 and the days that followed. The piece beckons you to recall being able to embrace a stranger on the street, that you could know nothing personally of each other yet be feeling the same thing. In an age where so much of “9/11” has been politicized, it is vitally important to revisit the commonality and unified emotional strength the events of that day generated.
From its intimate moments to its massive scale and complicated sound design, the very performance of “On the Transmigration of Souls” in Grand Rapids is just one indicator of how sophisticated artistic life has become here. The audience and the musicians should be proud of that, and this extraordinary musical event should not be missed.