Rzewski's 'Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues' 1/2 Audio + Sheet Music

pf: Marc-Andre Hamelin

Category:

Music

Tags:

• winnsboro
• cotton
• mill
• blues
• rzewski
• hamelin
• audio
• sheet
• music
• part
• out
• of
• piano
• difficult
• clusters

[OrbiliusMagister]

I eventually found out what's that melody between 4:12 and 5:10: it is actually a quotation of the traditional Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues: go to sniff.numachi. com/ pages/ tiWNNSBORO;ttWNNSBORO.html

and you'll find out that the final part of this tune resembles the quotation. Obviously Rzewski put some twists and turns...

[tomekkobialka]

@OrbiliusMagister Thanks for that OM, I've always wondered if the melodies in this piece were based on another song (like in the 3rd northern american ballad, 'Down by the Riverside', which I played for my grade 2 violin exam 7 years ago)

[Klimperenie]

The chords right hand beginning 3:30 are nearly the same as at the beginning of Rachmaninows 2nd piano concert ?! ...

[kastlesucksTDOTS]

All this made me very dizzy.

[jcracker]

this is AWESOME

[newfreshreview]

@OrbiliusMagister Agreed on that quotation.

[OrbiliusMagister]

@Klimperenie The cotton Mill owner wanted his workers to hear something different from that relentless grinding, so he aired through loudspeakers some Rachmaninov.

I'd like to know the source of the second quotiation (from 4:12 to 5:10): it sounds familiar to my ears, but Rzewski twisted its rhythm and harmonies.

[cerzule]

This piece terrified me when I first heard it -- I had no idea what to expect, but the grinding, relentless dissonance gave me chills, and then the sinister crescendos and repetitious rhythms made me even more uneasy. It all contrasts with the lovely, bluesy theme that emerges from the noise, which again disappears into shrieking tone clusters, before gradually vanishing into an eerie silence ... it's brilliant!

[MrCrazyAlligator]

@LongDriveChamp03 When I hear this, I instantly thought of machinery, and working in a cotton mill all day long. Just close your eyes and imagine machines rolling and grinding to the music in the first half. It's kind of eerie.

[LongDriveChamp03]

@Fallansig I wouldn't call this minimalism either. If anything it's almost like impressionist music. When I hear this I can hear the machinery and see it.

[DanielMcDrtcomposer]

Rzewski is one of the most underated composers of our time, a real unique musician. Check put "coming together" , a real gem.

[cantabile91]

after listening to 6min of relentless pounding, i'm having a headache (for real).