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Mr. BrancaJanuary 10th, 2007
Another day gone by. Added some pics to jazz things up. If they’re in the way or things take too long to load, lemme know and I’ll be sure to ask someone who knows what to do. Some Glenn Branca for tonight/today. Not too much time to
comment on ‘em but I promise you will enjoy any of these(so get ‘em all)Glenn Branca - Symphony No. 3Review by Brian OlewnickBranca subtitled this work as “music for the first 127 intervals of the harmonic series,” and one can certainly sense a more arcane, less overtly rockish approach here than on previous releases such as The Ascension. This may also be due to the fact that, by this time, his musicians were for the most part no longer utilizing traditional (though retuned) electric guitars. Instead, homemade instruments had been created, wherein guitar strings and pickups were attached to two-by-fours that were laid in banks horizontally and played with small sticks or mallets. In performance, one interesting effect of this technique was that, through amplification, an enormous volume of sound was capable of being produced by very slight and gentle tapping of the strings.
Symphony No. 3 begins with airy, sustained chords, making their way in calm fashion through the harmonic series Branca described. They are allowed to simply hang in time — each complex, each very beautiful on its own. After about ten minutes, high bell-like tones are introduced, the initial chords now serving as a solid ground for additional activities.
Soon (one might say, inevitably), Stefan Wischerth’s drums begin pounding out an insistent tattoo that evolves into a full-fledged, driving rock rhythm. As opposed to earlier works, however, the guitars maintain their cloudy harmonic attack and the result is a splendid tension. The third quarter of the composition involves the interplay of harsher, slashing chords with more turbulent and unfixed rhythms, and sets the stage beautifully for the closing section. Here, Branca returns somewhat to the form of the opening moments, but the chords now possess a dramatic respiratory quality as though the guitar orchestra itself is deeply breathing in and out. The effect is quite beautiful and brings a reflective close to one of Branca’s more introspective works. My Sonic Youth-obsessed friend hates BrancaGlenn Branca - Symphony No. 6Composition Description by “Blue Gene” TyrannyOriginally entitled “Angel Choirs at the Gates of Hell” and organized in four movements for guitars, keyboards and drums (1987), “Symphony No. 6 / Devil Choirs at the Gates of Heaven” was revised in 1988 and scored for 10 guitars, keyboard, bass, and drums and re-grouped in five movements. Following up on this imagery, in 1989 Branca composed “Gates of Heaven” for chorus.
As a study in gradually denser sonorities (”resultant masses”) over a rock-steady pulse, this music digs deep to elicit sensations often approached by the profoundest chant. The natural harmonic series is used to generate the rhythms of the various accumulated layers making up these densities. A captivating and gradual unfolding of the music results. John Cage and Glenn Branca once had a disagreement about Branca’s music being “fascist”. Cage felt that the densities create the sensation of a “sustained climax” and thus restrict the mind from opening up, but I seriously doubt that fascists (who history has shown tend to go for the most common denominators like maudlin sentimentality, kitsch and mysterious powers “out there”) would like Branca’s symphonies. But he doesn’t like John Cage eitherGlenn Branca - Lesson No. 1Review by Thom JurekLesson No. 1 was Glenn Branca’s first release as a composer. Originally issued as a 12″ EP, or mini-album, it featured two tracks, the beautiful and accessible title track — composed as a response to listening to Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” and the frenetically assaultive “Dissonance,” which has lost none of its power.
The players on this date were organist Anthony Coleman, drummer Stephen Wischerth, F. Schroder on bass, Branca and Michael Gross on guitars and, on the latter track, Harry Spitz on Sledgehammer. This compact disc reissue on Acute contains “Bad Smells,” an unreleased track from the Ascension sessions that came two years later. The band here features five guitarists:
Branca, David Rosenbloom, Ned Sublette, Lee Ranaldo, and Thurston Moore, as well as bassist Jeffrey Glenn and Wischerth. There is also a QuickTime video movie of “Symphony No. 5″ included.
One of the most compelling things about this release is how fully developed Branca’s ideas were even at this early juncture. His micro- and over-tonal notions as overlooked visceral elements in rock & roll prove worthy mettle here, and even on “Dissonance” with its catharsis and knotty harmonics, rock & roll is never far from the fore in his method. Bad Smells” has a different, more complex dynamic, especially from the outset, but the sense of urgency is there, along with the shimmering, barely hidden melodic frames that keep the entire thing evolving on the axis of its pulse. Guitarist Alan Licht provides a fine critical history and appreciation in his liner notes, making for a historically relevant package. But in spite of its obvious contribution not only to vanguard music, but to Sonic Youth’s sound, the music here is actually pleasant and compelling to listen to, and does not sound like a relic out of time and space, or a curiosity piece from long ago. 1 is a powerful, wrenching, transcendent piece of rock guitar classicism that, if there is any justice, will get a wider and more appreciative hearing in the new century. Two reasons why he shouldn’t have a blog.