Concertofor TurntablesandOrchestra No.1
SymphonicVersion (2006,arr.2011)
ISSUU version for perusal only
©2006/2011byGabrielProkofiev,publishedbyMuteSongLtd. 1AlbionPlace,LondonWC60QT [email:david.mcginnis@mute.com]
ConcertoforTurntablesandOrchestraNo.1wasoriginallycommissionedbyChimeraProductions 2007-8.
ThisversionforexpandedorchestrawascommissionedbytheNationalYouthOrchestraofGreat Britain.
Thefirstperformanceofthisexpandedorchestraversionwasgivenon3August2011inSymphonyHall, BirminghambytheNationalYouthOrchestraofGreatBritainfeaturingDJSwitch(turntables), conductedbyVladimirJurowski.
Thefirstperformanceoftheoriginalversionwasgivenon26September2007atTheScala,King’sCross, London,byTheHeritageOrchestrafeaturingDJYoda(turntables),conductedbyJulesBuckley.
ConcertoforTurntables&Orchestrawasfirstrecordedbythesame(chamber)forces,andisavailable onNONCLASSICALRECORDS-NONCLSS005).
TheSymphonicversionisavailableonSignumRecords,recordedbyUralPhilarmonic,cond.Alexey Bogoradf,ft.MrSwtich(turntables).
Duration:25minutes(approx.)
Instrumentation:
Turntablist
2Flutes(I=picc)
AltoFlute
2Oboes
CorAnglais
2ClarinetsinBb
BassClarinetinBb
2Bassoons
Contrabassoon
4HornsinF
3TrumpetsinBb
2Trombones
BassTrombone
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion(4players):cymbals,small&mediumgongs,bassdrum,drumset,struckreeds(orshaker), lowrotor-toms,ridecymbal,bongos,tom-toms,piccolo&largesnaredrums,tambourine, chinesecymbal,splashcymbals,sleighbells,hi-hat,slapstick,woodchimes,vibraphone,shaker(eggs), triangle,glassmilkbottle
Harp
Strings
Fullscore&partsavailabletobuyorhirefrom MusicSalesonbehalfofMuteSongLtd.
NoteforTurntablespart: NoteforTurntablespart:
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LiketheClassicalconcertomodel,thisConcertoforTurntablesandOrchestraaimstoshowthefull rangeoftechniquesandexpressivityofthesoloinstrumentandalsohighlighttheskillsofthesoloist.
Astheturntables(withamixer),isaninstrumentthathasprimarilyevolvedintheworldofhip-hop; manyofthetechniquesusedtoplayitoriginatefromhip-hopcultureand,therefore,thisconcerto innatelycontainslanguageandculturefromhip-hopmusic,eventhoughitisnotactuallyinahip-hop style.
Inhip-hop,musicisalmostnevernotated.Insteaditislearntbyrepetitionandoftenuses improvisation.Theprimarywayforturntablemotifstobecommunicatedisthroughahostofnames (comparableperhapstothedifferentnamesgiventovariousornamentsinclassicalmusic).Thenames tendtobedescriptive;simplequaversofasinglesoundbeingscratchedforwardandbackwardisknown asthe‘baby’;fast,tremolotypefiguresarecalled‘scribbles’,veryshort,fastforwardscratchesare called‘chirp’scratches,andsoon.
Yet,justgivingtheDJ(turntablist)alistofornaments/scratch-styleswouldbeaninsufficientlyaccurate waytonotatetheDJpart.But,allthebestscratchDJshavelearnttheirinstrumentinthehip-hopway andarenotaccustomedtofollowingascore;andonlyafewcanactuallyreadmusic.So,notatingthe turntablepartispotentiallyproblematic.DJRadarinUSAhaseveninventedanewgrid-basednotation systemespeciallyforturntables,butIthoughtthatusingthiswouldover-complicatethescore,asthe DJ,soloistandcomposerwouldallhavetolearnacompletelynewsystem.
Mysolutionfornotatingtheturntableparthasbeentousetraditionalwesternnotation,writingascore thatgenerallyresemblesapercussionpart;butwiththeadditionofthemarkinginofthecorresponding DJ-techniquedescriptionsalongsideeachphrase,andwithboxedtextexplainingexactlywhichsample theDJshouldbeusingateachgivenpoint.Alsodifferentnote-headsareusedtoindicatedifference scratchingtechniques.
Veryimportantly,inordertomakeallowanceforfreedomofinterpretationthatissointrinsictoDJing, andsothatthefinerrhythmicdetailsofmuchoftheturntablist’sperformancecanbefinalisedbythe soloistthemselves;throughouttheDJparttherearesectionsmarked:
--------ritmoadlib----------
ForallthesepassagestheDJisnotexpectedtofollowthewrittenrhythmsexactly.However,theDJ shouldstillusethe‘sample’thatthescoredirectsateachcue,andshouldalsousetheexacttechnique thatisdescribedinthescore.Furthermore,theDJshouldonlyplaywherenotesaremarked,andall restsshouldbecarefullyobserved,astheyaretheretogivespacetotheorchestra;aDJwhonervously scratchesthroughouttheconcertowillgreatlydamagetheoveralleffectofthework.
Atmanysignificantmoments,however,thereisno'ritmoadlib'markingandthentheDJshouldplaya muchmorepreciseinterpretationofwhatiswritten.
Hopefully,theDJwillhavesufficientmusic-readingskillstofollowtheirpartandunderstandwhento comein.Thosewithlessreadingexperiencecanconsultrecordingsoftheconcertotohelpwith learning,andalsoarrangewiththeconductortogivethemcues.
Finally,anoteonthecadenzas–themomentswhentheDJcanexpresstheirownskillsmostfreely. Thereareinfact,cadenzasineverymovement:somecanbeveryshort,andsomequitelong(20seconds upto2minutes).IwouldrecommendpreparingthelongestcadenzaformovementIII,asithasthe soundsthatgivethewidestrangeofoptionsforacadenza.
GabrielProkofiev,June2011
Composer'sprogrammenote:
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Backin2005,pianist&eventsproducer,WillDuttaapproachedmewiththeideaofcomposinga ‘concerto’for‘DJ’.Butmyimmediatereactionwasnegative.AlthoughIhadjustcomposeda classicalpiecewhichincorporatedaDJ(ThreeDancesforBassClarinet,StringTrio&DJ,2004),the ideaofanactual‘DJconcerto’soundedtoogimmickytome:Iwasconcerneditwouldseemlike anotherPRexercisetogetclassicalmusic‘downwiththekids’,butMrDuttainsistedthatthere wasseriouspotentialtotheprojectandasitwasinevitablethataconcertoforturntableswould emergesoonerorlater;whynotletusbetheteamtodoitright.Willexplainedthatwewould havetopturntablist,DJYoda,asthesoloist,andonceIproperlyconsideredthemusical possibilities,Isoonstartedsketchingoutdifferentconceptsforeachofthemovements,andthenI washooked.
Whatmakestheturntabledifferenttoanyotherinstrumentisthatitusespre-recordedsounds; Thisisactuallynothingnewinclassicalmusic.FromtheMusiqueConcrèteofPierreSchaeffer’s studios,PoèmeélectroniqueofVarèseinthe1950s,andJohnCage’sImaginaryLandscapeNo.1 (from1939,thefirstcompositionwithturntables),throughtothecurrentdigitalworldof electroacousticmusic,classicalcomposersweremanipulatingrecordedsoundslongbefore GrandmasterFlashmadehisfirstscratchusingarecord.However,oncehip-hopculturediscovered thataDJcandosomuchmorethanjust‘playrecords’withaturntable,theirDIYapproachledto theevolutionofaveryexcitingnewinstrument.
Thatinstrumenthassomehowstayedwithintheworldofhip-hopanddance,neverventuringinto theclassicalworld,despitetheincredibleexpressivepotentialithas.Havingpreviouslycomposed andstudiedelectroacousticmusic,Iamawareofthesearchformoreexpressivewaysof performingelectroniccompositions,asunfortunatelymanyconcertsjustconsistoftheplayback ofdigitalfiles.Socoulditbepossiblethatthisinstrument,thatfirstcametolifeatBlockPartiesin theBronx,couldbringthatexpressivity?
But,seeingasitwasdevelopedforhip-hopmusic,woulditworkinthecontextofaclassicalform suchasaconcerto?Hip-hopmusichasfrequentlysampledorchestralsoundsandtextureswith greatsuccess,sowhynottheotherwayround?Plus,anexperiencedDJcanproducesuchawide rangeofsoundsthatitmustbepossibleforthemtositwithintheorchestrainsomeway. Furthermore,asacomposerIhaveagenuineinterestandexperienceincontemporaryurbanmusic stylessuchaship-hop,soIknewthatIcouldincorporatecertainrhythmsandmusicalideasinto theworkthatbroughttheworldsoftheDJandtheorchestraclosertogether.(Inthisconcertoyou canheartracesofhip-hopdrumpatterns,areggaetonbeat,grime,andhouse.)
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Thecentralinspirationguidingthecompositionofthisworkwastheinstrumentitself,theturntable. AfterameetingwithDJYoda,wherehedemonstratedtherangeoftechniquesonoffer,Idecidedthat theconcertowouldaimtoexploreallthemainDJingtechniques,witheachmovementfocusingona certaintechnique.Theconcertoexplores:
1.ThemostbasicDJtechniqueofall:playingaphraseofmusic,andtheprogressionsfromthat; stoppingtherecord,interruptingit,reversingit,slowingitdown,andcuttingitup.
2.TheearliestDJtechnique:‘mixing’.Oneofthemostinterestingmixingtechniquesisbeatjuggling. ItiswhenaDJ‘juggles’withtwoidenticalrecordstocreateloopsorputtingthemoutofsyncwith eachother,tocreateinterestingnewrhythms.Intheconcertothisisdonewithtworecordsinthe cadenzas,andwithjustonerecordagainstanorchestra.
3.Scratching:themostfamousDJtechniqueandintherighthandsitcanbeextremelyexpressive andmusical.Theconcertofeaturesawiderangeofscratchtechniques:scribbling,planing, hydroplaning,thetransformer,echoes,thecrabandthebaby.
4.Playingamelodywiththeturntable.Perhapssurprisingly,melodicplayingispossible,asthe Technics1200(theSteinwayofturntables)hasasliderandbuttonforalteringtheplaybackspeed (andthereforepitch)ofarecord.ThereisaDJfromSanFranciscowhooftenplaysnurseryrhymes usingatest-toneinhisDJ-sets.Thereare6notesthatcanquiteeasilybeplayedontheturntable(3 positionsofthepitchcontrol,in33or45rpm),anditturnsoutthesepitchesmakeupthefirst6 notesofaminorscale.Butsomeofthenotesareverytrickytoplayoneafteranother,sothe turntableisnotveryflexibleasamelodyinstrument.
ThefinalandmostdefiningchoiceforthepiecewasthesubjectofwhatsoundstheDJshoulduse. Throughtheevolutionofturntablismtherearecertainclassicsamplesthathavebecomethemain toolsofmostscratch-DJs,suchasagasping“ahhhh”sampledfromChangeTheBeatbyFabFreddy Five,andfunkbreaksanddrumhitsthataregoodforscratching.However,ifweputtheseclassic‘DJ sounds’overaliveorchestraIhadafeelingthattheconcertowouldsoundforcedandnotthe organiccompositionIwasstrivingfor.WhatseemedthemostnaturalsolutionwasthattheDJ shouldscratchandplaywithsoundsthatweregeneratedbytheorchestrathemselves,sothatno foreignsoundswouldeverenterthepiece.ForthenecessarygaspingsoundsIcouldrecordthe woodwindplayersandforthedrumsoundsrecordtheorchestralpercussionsectionplaying passagesfromtheconcertoitself.Insteadofthetest-tonewewouldsampleaflutenoteforthe melodicsection.
Apartfromthecomposingofthescore,thefinalchallengewashowtonotatetheDJpart.Ifound thatsimplicitywasthekey,asDJsarenotusedtofollowingscores.SoImadeasimplescorethat marksalltheentries,themainrhythmsandthesoundstouse,butmuchofthedetails& ornamentationisopenforimprovisation,andisdiscussedinrehearsals.Thischaracteristicgivesthis worktogiveanodtotheearlydaysoftheconcertowhensoloistsweregivenmorefreedomto improvise.Soinoneway,thisnewinstrumentisbringingtheconcertoformbacktoitsroots.
GabrielProkofiev(March2006)
ConcertoforTurntablesNo.1
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quaverpulsinglouderonoff-beatquavers
louderonoff-beatquavers
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*Fullinstrumentnotneeded.C#barcanbeplacedonfelt.
Vibraphone* (orgongtunedtoC#)
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