Between now and now,
between I am and you are,
the word bridge.

Entering it
you enter yourself:
the world connects
and closes like a ring.

From one bank to another,
there is always
a body stretched:
a rainbow.
I'll sleep beneath its arches.

—Octavio Paz. “The Bridge.”

Tambor (1998)

Commissioned by Mariss Jansons and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Duration: 15:00

Program Notes

When I outlined this summer's listening project, I circled this week on the calendar. (I get to spend a few days immersed in the work of Joan Tower! Pixels will be illuminated. Oh, yes.) Her music is well known to anyone who has spent time training to become a professional brass player. She writes eloquently for us. Her set of fanfares for "the uncommon woman" is a joy to play. If they haven't already become standard repertoire, they soon will. Some of my favorite professional chamber music ensembles have led off their recordings with her works, including the American Brass Quintet and eighth blackbird.

Tambor is one of those pieces that violates one of my philosophical golden rules, specifically that in order for me to love a piece of music, it must have a melody that I will be able to hold on to and carry with me as I disengage from the listening experience. Joan Tower is one of only a handful of composers who can write genuinely captivating and memorable music without prioritizing catchy melodies. That's not to say that there aren't melodic lines in her music. Of course, there are, but they're usually not earworms. Her lack of memorable melodies is one element of her early fascination with serialism that she has held on to as a composer while expanding her abilities as a dramatist. Tower's music defines a bridge from serialism, through the realms of minimalism, neo-romanticism, and spectralism, into the land of contemporary classical music. While I stand on the sidelines hugging my popular music tendencies towards singable melodies, Joan Tower spikes the ball triumphantly in the end zone proclaiming that such things are unnecessary while continuing to run up the score.

video ref: YouTube