Julia Wolfe: Turning a hand clap into an orchestral explosion
Interview
American composer Julia Wolfe forges the rhythmic drive of rock, the directness of folk, and minimalist patterns into a distinctive, idiosyncratic whole. Her works draw inspiration from the folk history of her homeland and are rooted in theater. In 2015, she won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Anthracite Fields. This season, Bozar spotlights her as portrait artist. Her music can be heard in more than seven concerts, including three with the BNO. Our colleagues at Bozar have already posed her a few questions.
The music of mine that will be performed illustrates my love for sonic intensity and my deep connection to theater. This comes most strongly to the fore in Fire in My Mouth. More than 100 singers join forces with an orchestra. The piece is based on the clothing industry around the turn of the last century. Its focus is on the fire that struck the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1911 and its aftermath. I envisioned the female immigrants who worked there. They had fled poverty and persecution in their home countries. Many were textile workers with the necessary sewing skills, which brought them into massive factories where hundreds sat at sewing machines. Fire in My Mouth tells the story of the women who persevered and faced these challenging conditions, of the women who led the fight for workplace reform. At Bozar, your work will be performed across seven concerts.
All the musical works to be performed owe a debt to the American idiom: fiddling, swinging rhythms, stomping feet, body slaps… The sensuality is raw and immediate. In Body Language, a hand clap transforms into an orchestral explosion. A volley of chest hits leads to energetic rolls on a drum set made of plastic pipes and kitchen utensils. In Forbidden Love, the percussionists take on the instruments of the string quartet, turning them into a kind of chopping board by striking and plucking them.
In New York is overal muziek – op straat, in de metro. Je draait een hoek om en je hoort iets prachtigs en onverwachts: drumstellen gemaakt van emmers en pannen, mensen die ritmes klappen of tikken op hun borst. Mijn muzikale taal is doordrongen van die stad.
I would rather say that Body Language is a celebration than a manifesto. But I also like the idea that it can be both! In New York, there is music everywhere: on the streets, in the subways. You turn a corner and hear something beautiful and unexpected: drum sets made from buckets and pots, people clapping rhythms or tapping on their chests. My musical language is soaked in that city. I draw from American folk and rock ’n’ roll. In Body Language, I give Colin an entirely new challenge: to deploy his virtuosity in a completely different way.
For centuries, people have searched for the fountain of eternal youth. But imagine we actually found it, what would it sound like? For me, it’s an energetic plunge, with rasping washboards, blaring trumpets, and driving beats.
