Childs, Mary Ellen – “Wreck” – [Innova/American Composers]

I have no context whatever for this hoity-toity business. This is modern classical chamber music written by the Midwestern composer to accompany a, er, modern dance piece, staged in 2008 in Minneapolis, the conceit of which is: some people are trapped in a sealed cabin of a sunken boat. The score alone certainly has a kind of dramatic arc to it, all about the process of accepting death, a boo hoo hoo hoo. Clarinets, Violin, Two Cellos, a Percussionist/Drummer who’s got some bells too (t.7), all attempting to simulate the emotional process of doomed humans. It’s pretty varied, some tracks have percussion and some are just strings. Obviously rhythm is the rule rather than the exception as this was made for ‘dancing’ to, but t.4, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18 are on the more out-there, droney side… man. This has lots of tension and mostly feels pretty traditional, and could easily be the score to a sophisticated drama film. I have no idea what I’m talking about, but I suspect fans of modern classical will like this. Glug glug glug