So I was recently looking around Nick Vasallo’s youtube page after writing up a little something about his newest piece “Doomcordion”, and I found another ridiculously awesome piece of music worth sharing with you guys. Dr.Vasallo made a lot of cool music so in 2013, and the year is barely half over. Starting with his new death metal band Oblivion’s debut album, “Called to Rise”, Vasallo also unleashed some awesome solo, classical music pieces. This guy is like a machine.
The piece I’m stoked on right now is called “When the War Began” and it’s awesome. This one is performed by a group called the REDSHIFT ensemble. This group is made up four members: Jeff Anderle on clarinet and bass clarinet, Andie Springer on violin, Kate Campbell on piano, and Michelle Kwon on cello.
This piece invokes images of the apocalypse, the massively powerful, and extremely dissonant music would be the perfect score to an epic movie about the end of all things. Honestly it’s best described by the program notes: “The three movements (I. The Enduring Moments Before Disaster, II. Falling from the Sky, III. Into the Storm) all represent events and images that are associated with the horrors of war. I gave myself a simple narrative akin to a movie script and used this as a model for form. For example, in the first movement a small family waits as they hear the impending sound of war as it nears their door. There is nothing they can do to escape the terror. The handful of simple musical ideas and instruments become complex and surprising characters that can exist in reality or imagination. Extended techniques are used to emulate the sounds of electronic music and sound effects.”
Go check out the other videos I’ve posted too and check out all of Dr. Vasallo’s amazing work.
-Trisolino
Links: Nick Vasallo Facebook // Twitter // Official Website
