{"id":615,"date":"2019-01-12T21:55:39","date_gmt":"2019-01-12T21:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/?page_id=615"},"modified":"2022-08-30T18:50:06","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T18:50:06","slug":"stoecker","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/32-2018\/stoecker\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of Thomas Ad\u00e8s: Asyla, by Edward Venn, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\"><strong>Philip Stoecker<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"text\/x-mathjax-config\">\nMathJax.Hub.Config({\n  messageStyle: \"none\"\n});\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><\/p><cite><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/32-2018\/32-stoecker\/\">View PDF\ufeff<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">The life and works of British composer Thomas Ad\u00e8s (b. 1971) have recently garnered much critical attention. Since the early 2000s, the number of scholarly articles and dissertations about Ad\u00e8s\u2019s compositions and his compositional procedures has steadily increased and shows no signs of slowing down.<span id='easy-footnote-1-615' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/32-2018\/stoecker\/#easy-footnote-bottom-1-615' title='For the first dissertation on the music of Ad\u00e8s, see Travers (2004). Some of the early scholarly articles include Fox (2004), Venn (2006), and Roeder (2006, 2009).'><sup>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The first book published about Ad\u00e8s\u2019s music was written in French by H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Cao (2007). The next book to appear was created by Ad\u00e8s himself in collaboration with music critic Tom Service. Together, Ad\u00e8s and Service (2012) published their conversations as <em>Thomas Ad\u00e8s: Full of Noises<\/em>.<span id='easy-footnote-2-615' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/32-2018\/stoecker\/#easy-footnote-bottom-2-615' title='For an example of a scholarly article written by Ad\u00e8s, see Ad\u00e8s (1999).'><sup>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Edward Venn\u2019s <em>Thomas Ad\u00e8s<\/em>: Asyla, published in 2017 by Routledge as part of their \u201cLandmarks in Music Since 1950\u201d series,<span id='easy-footnote-3-615' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/32-2018\/stoecker\/#easy-footnote-bottom-3-615' title='Other monographs in this series include &lt;em&gt;Karlheinz Stockhausen: &lt;\/em&gt;Zeitma\u00dfe by Jerome Kohl (2017); &lt;em&gt;Iannis Xenakis: &lt;\/em&gt;Kraanerg by James Harley (2015); &lt;em&gt;Robert Saxton: &lt;\/em&gt;Caritas by Wyndham Thomas (2012); &lt;em&gt;Hans Werner Henze: &lt;\/em&gt;Tristan (1973) by Stephen Downes (2011); &lt;em&gt;Harrison Birtwistle: &lt;\/em&gt;The Mask of Orpheus by Jonathan Cross (2009); &lt;em&gt;Leonard Bernstein:&lt;\/em&gt;West Side Story by Nigel Simeone (2009); &lt;em&gt;Jonathan Harvey: &lt;\/em&gt;Song Offerings &lt;em&gt;and &lt;\/em&gt;White as Jasmine by Michael Downes (2009); &lt;em&gt;Olivier Messiaen: &lt;\/em&gt;Oiseaux exotiques by Peter Hill, Nigel Simeone (2007); &lt;em&gt;Louis Andriessen: &lt;\/em&gt;De Staat by Robert Adlington(2004); and &lt;em&gt;Shostakovich: &lt;\/em&gt;String Quartet No. 8 by David Fanning (2004).'><sup>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span> adds to this short list of booklength studies that focus on the music of Ad\u00e8s. This pioneering text has laid a significant foundation for future Ad\u00e8s studies. Venn, who has published numerous insightful analyses (2006, 2014, 2015) on Ad\u00e8s\u2019s music, explains the goal of his monograph:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The account of <em>Asyla&nbsp;<\/em>offered in this book is by definition my personal response to a work that I have listened to, studied and enjoyed for nearly two decades. I offer a close analytical reading of the score, along with theoretical reflection (both musicological and critical) upon this analysis. By carefully laying out the grounds for my argument, I hope to demonstrate (without overloading the text with theoretical jargon) why the music moves me in the way it does, whilst enabling readers to reach their own alternative interpretive conclusions: the semantic richness of <em>Asyla&nbsp;<\/em>makes the notion of a single, definitive reading nonsensical. (xv)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Thomas Ad\u00e8s:&nbsp;<\/em>Asyla is symmetrically organized so that the outer chapters (Chapters 1, 2, 7, and the Epilogue) are biographical in nature and position <em>Asyla <\/em>(1997) not only within the composer\u2019s compositional output, but also in a broader cultural context, while the four central chapters (Chapters 3\u20136) provide in-depth analyses of all four movements of the work. Attached to the inside of&nbsp;the back cover is a CD recording of <em>Asyla <\/em>performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle; until recently this was the only commercially available recording of <em>Asyla<\/em>.<span id='easy-footnote-4-615' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/32-2018\/stoecker\/#easy-footnote-bottom-4-615' title='Seventeen years after the first recording, the second commercially available CD of &lt;em&gt;Asyla&amp;nbsp;&lt;\/em&gt;was released by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Ad\u00e8s. See &lt;em&gt;Ad\u00e8s: Polaris, Tevot, Asyla, Brahms &lt;\/em&gt;(Ad\u00e8s 2017).'><sup>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Venn provides the usual bibliographical references, and he also includes additional citations that are helpful for future research. For example, Venn lists two websites where readers can learn more about Ad\u00e8s\u2019s compositions and recordings as well as the web address to Faber Music, Ad\u00e8s\u2019s publisher, to view scores online for study purposes. Venn also provides a discography, lists two radio broadcasts that he discusses in the text, and includes a list of websites that the reader can visit for additional information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe first two chapters of the book,\u201d Venn notes, \u201ccontextualise Ad\u00e8s and his music\u201d (xvi). In Chapter 1, Venn reviews Ad\u00e8s\u2019s early compositions and his public and critical reception in the 1990s, a decade when Ad\u00e8s was first being recognized for his talents as both performer and composer. In the second half of the first chapter, Venn focuses on \u201cAd\u00e8s\u2019s early career in the context of Britain in the 1990s\u201d (6). Venn provides a brief survey of the political climate in Britain as it relates to Ad\u00e8s\u2019s social and political situation. In Chapter 2, appropriately titled \u201cTowards <em>Asyla <\/em>(1990\u20131997),\u201d Venn describes some of the key compositional techniques that continually surface when analyzing Ad\u00e8s\u2019s music. For instance, Venn discusses an \u201cexpanding (or contracting) intervallic series\u201d where successive intervals between pitches increase or decrease usually by semitones, e.g., a C\u2013B\u2013A\u2013<nobr>F$$\\sharp$$<\/nobr>\u2013D melodic line projects the intervallic series of \u20131, \u20132, \u20133, \u20134. He further explains what he calls an \u201cexpanding (or contracting) harmonic progression,\u201d which consists of the superimposition of different interval cycles in a strict rhythmic alignment. Venn\u2019s Example 2.1, reproduced below, shows an \u201cexpanded intervallic series\u201d and an \u201cexpanded harmonic progression.\u201d The expanded harmonic progression provided in his example is excerpted from Ad\u00e8s\u2019s <em>Five Eliot Landscapes&nbsp;<\/em>(1990), which consists of the alignment of interval cycles 2, 1, and 3. Venn comments that this progression begins with A-major and B-major triads, and as a result, \u201cthe music recalls harmonic materials from a bygone era, but renders them strange in a new, modern context\u201d (18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/32-2018\/stoecker\/stoecker-2-1\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Stoecker-2.1-760x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1278\" width=\"512\" height=\"809\"\/><\/a><figcaption>Example 2.1 from Venn, Thomas Ad\u00e8s: Asyla.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In his discussion of pitch, Venn then explores how \u201c[p]attern disruption frequently assumes a significant role in Ad\u00e8s\u2019s music\u201d (19). For example, he discusses how the vocal line in mm. 396\u2013401 of Ad\u00e8s\u2019s first opera, <em>Powder Her Face <\/em>(1995), unfolds an expanding intervallic series: E4\u2013F4\u2013G4\u2013B$$\\flat$$4\u2013D5\u2013G$$\\sharp$$5. Venn points out that, according to the intervallic pattern of this melodic line, G5\u2014and not G$$\\sharp$$5\u2014should follow D5. Venn writes, \u201cHere, the deviation from expectation has, amongst other things, a dramatic function. Despite the Duchess\u2019s mounting excitement and hopes of a future of unimagined&nbsp;wealth,&nbsp;the G$$\\sharp$$ points to the fact that something is wrong. It might even be understood as standing for what we <em>. . . <\/em>know&nbsp;is going to happen: her eventual divorce and disgrace\u201d (19). Other topics in this chapter include Ad\u00e8s\u2019s use of rhythm (mensuration canons and intricate rhythmic patterns), sonority (extreme pitch registers), genre, external references, and metaphor. From here, Venn discusses the compositional background of <em>Asyla <\/em>and reviews some of the early debates surrounding the symphonic logic of the piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Chapter 7, \u201cInterpreting <em>Asyla<\/em>,\u201d Venn discusses the reception of the work from the public and the press, and he also reviews the \u201ccritical analysis of the work\u201d (xvi). As Venn argues,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">[t]he purpose of this chapter is to extend my interpretation of <em>Asyla <\/em>to take into account the broader discursive practices in which it is situated, and its active participation in meaning construction. Though it is not my intention to provide a comprehensive reception history of <em>Asyla<\/em>, the themes that I survey\u2014asylum, moral panics and surrealism\u2014are those that recur frequently in critical responses to the work. (138\u2013139)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In the final chapter, titled \u201cEpilogue: After <em>Asyla<\/em>,\u201d Venn chronicles Ad\u00e8s\u2019s compositions that were composed \u201c[b]etween <em>Asyla <\/em>and <em>The Tempest <\/em>(1997\u20132004),\u201d such as the Piano Quintet Op. 20 (2000) and <em>Brahms&nbsp;<\/em>Op. 21 (2001) (154). After a brief discussion of Ad\u00e8s\u2019s second opera <em>The Tempest <\/em>(2004), Venn reviews works \u201c[a]fter the storm,\u201d including Ad\u00e8s\u2019s Three Mazurkas Op. 27 for piano and <em>Lieux retrouv\u00e9s <\/em>Op. 26 for cello and piano, both composed in 2009, and <em>Totentanz<\/em> (2013) (159).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapters 3\u20136, the central section of the book, are devoted to thorough analyses of each movement of <em>Asyla<\/em>. The design for all four chapters is similar. Venn begins each chapter with a general overview that sets the stage for the analysis to follow. For example, his reading of the third movement (Chapter 5, \u201c \u2018Ecstasio\u2019: A \u2018freaky, funky rave\u2019?\u201d) begins with a discussion of electronic dance music (EDM) and how this dance form informs our listening experiences and expectations. Venn\u2019s introductory remarks are followed by a \u201cFormal overview\u201d of the movement. A form chart like Venn\u2019s Table 3.1 shown below provides an overview of each movement and includes the following annotations: Section or Subsection, such as A B A<em>\u2032<\/em> Coda or strophe 1; Bars\/Track Timing, which correspond to the timings on the book\u2019s accompanying CD of <em>Asyla&nbsp;<\/em>performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle; Comments, such as \u201cContrasting section: homophonic material in the wind over melodic idea in bass\u201d (48); and Duration (in seconds). In the form chart for the first movement (see Venn\u2019s Table 3.2) Venn includes additional information in columns detailing \u201cGoverning Set(s)\u201d and \u201cConcluding Dyad\u201d for each strophe (53); he thus lists the different octatonic collections or major\/minor tonal centers that unfold in the movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/32-2018\/stoecker\/stoecker-2\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stoecker-2-1024x794.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4093\" width=\"512\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stoecker-2-1024x794.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stoecker-2-300x233.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stoecker-2-768x596.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stoecker-2.png 1307w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Table 3.1 from Venn, Thomas Ad\u00e8s: Asyla.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/32-2018\/stoecker\/stoecker-3-2\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stoecker-3.2-1024x593.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4094\" width=\"511\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stoecker-3.2-1024x593.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stoecker-3.2-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stoecker-3.2-768x445.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stoecker-3.2.png 1979w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Table 3.2 from Venn, Thomas Ad\u00e8s: Asyla.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Following his overview and discussion of form, Venn then provides a detailed analytical tour of each movement in temporal order from the first measure to the last. He continually makes use of the analytical tools outlined in Chapter 2 to aid in his analysis. All four analytical chapters include excerpts from the score, oftentimes accompanied by annotated reductions to clearly illustrate the compositional procedures that occur. Although Venn\u2019s analytical chapters are organized chronologically by movement it is possible to easily follow his arguments in each chapter without consulting the earlier prose. Each chapter can be taken as an independent guided analytical tour through one of the movements from <em>Asyla<\/em>. For a summary of one of Venn\u2019s analytical tours I will focus on Chapter 6, titled \u201cAsylum gained?,\u201d which is devoted to the fourth movement of <em>Asyla<\/em>. Like the previous analytical chapters, Venn begins with an overview of the finale, discussing its formal and musical issues. The movement is based on a passacaglia theme, which recalls the final movement of Brahms\u2019s Symphony No. 4. Venn suggests that this passacaglia provides \u201ccontinuity underneath the surface contrasts of texture, sonority and theme; these in turn articulate the underlying form\u201d (116). Venn then provides an analysis of the movement in temporal order, beginning with a detailed discussion of the harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic structures of the passacaglia theme; the opening section of his analysis, Example 6.1, appears below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/32-2018\/stoecker\/stoecker-6-1\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/stoecker-6.1-636x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4095\" width=\"512\" height=\"822\"\/><\/a><figcaption>Example 6.1 from Venn, Thomas Ad\u00e8s: Asyla.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>He&nbsp;argues that&nbsp;the tonal&nbsp;center for the&nbsp;opening&nbsp;of this movement begins in A minor and explains how&nbsp;the melodic material (C<sub>2<\/sub>\u2013D<sub>2<\/sub>\u2013D<sub>2<\/sub>\u2013C<sub>2<\/sub>\u2013C<sub>2<\/sub>\u2013B<sub>1<\/sub>) above the descending whole-tone passacaglia bass line (A<sub>1<\/sub>\u2013G<sub>1<\/sub>\u2013G<sub>1<\/sub>\u2013F<sub>1<\/sub>) creates tensions and releases. He interprets the initial C<sub>2<\/sub>\u2013D<sub>2<\/sub>\u2013C<sub>2<\/sub> melodic line as a neighbor figure, but when the melody returns to C<sub>2<\/sub> it creates a harmonic tension (a perfect 4th) with G<sub>1<\/sub> in the bass. For Venn, the consonances and dissonances of the passacaglia theme thus create an \u201cexpressive but gently ambiguous musical environment\u201d (121). Venn next focuses on the first (mm. 9\u201312) and second (20\u201323) choral themes. These two themes feature descending semitones, which contrast with the whole-tone structure of the passacaglia. Venn notes that the first choral theme is \u201ceven less harmonically focussed than the opening eight [bars], for the tonal materials brought into play are more diffuse\u2014octatonic in the upper stratum, diatonic fifth-based progression in the middle and whole- tone in the bass, with only occasional points of contact between them\u201d (125). Venn interprets Section B (mm. 29\u201360) as a kind of scherzo, with its dance-like tempo and its \u201clight, quicksilver figuration.\u201d Venn further writes, \u201c[t]he [B] section begins with chirruping flutes that resemble the stylised birdsong of the first movement, singing out over a static E$$\\flat$$ in the bass (the ostensible tonic of the second movement)\u201d (128). In this contrasting section, Ad\u00e8s employs expanding harmonic progressions and expanding intervallic series. Venn then analyzes the A section (mm. 61\u201366) and argues that it is the climax of the movement despite an arrival to E$$\\flat$$ minor instead of the A-minor harmony that opened the finale. Venn notes a similarity to the Scherzo of Mahler\u2019s Third Symphony and the role played by E$$\\flat$$ minor in <em>Asyla<\/em>. For Venn, the most important moment in the A<em>\u2032 <\/em>section is the return of the whole-tone passacaglia theme in an inner voice that descends from E$$\\flat$$ to F. Venn concludes the chapter by describing the musical procedures of the Coda (mm. 67\u201372), noting that \u201c[t]he conclusion presents another of Ad\u00e8s\u2019s \u2018arial overviews\u2019 as the camera zooms out from this human drama to something altogether more dispassionate and objective\u201d (134). Throughout his analysis of this movement, Venn not only refers to the compositional materials that he explained in Chapter 2 (interval cycles, expanded harmonic progression, etc.), but he also discusses how certain passages of Ad\u00e8s\u2019s finale recall musical procedures and topical allusions from previous movements. He writes, \u201c[t]he return to the musical and expressive state just prior to the opening of the symphony suggestions that the whole cycle of violence, refuge, madness and ecstasy is to begin once again, repeating infinitely\u201d (134). \u201c[t]he conclusion presents another of Ad\u00e8s\u2019s \u2018arial overviews\u2019 as the camera zooms out from this human drama to something altogether more dispassionate and objective\u201d (134). Throughout his analysis of this movement, Venn not only refers to the compositional materials that he explained in Chapter 2 (interval cycles, expanded harmonic progression, etc.), but he also discusses how certain passages of Ad\u00e8s\u2019s finale recall musical procedures and topical allusions from previous movements. He writes, \u201c[t]he return to the musical and expressive state just prior to the opening of the symphony suggestions that the whole cycle of violence, refuge, madness and ecstasy is to begin once again, repeating infinitely\u201d (134).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are moments when Venn\u2019s analytical approach resonates with David Lewin\u2019s (1982\u20131983) transformational attitude. For instance, in his description of the opening melodic line from the first movement of <em>Asyla<\/em>, Venn writes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>the conclusion [of the opening melody] is unexpected: the fall of a perfect fifth to an F$$\\sharp$$, rather than the (anticipated) rise to a D creates a kink in the tail, establishing a musical tension, a pattern of inclusion and exclusion, for the F$$\\sharp$$ does not belong to the underlying octatonic set of the rest of the melody. (43)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Lewin would certainly talk about the \u201curge\u201d of this melody to eventually \u201cresolve,\u201d noting that it is \u201csuggestive to think of these generative lusts as musical tensions and\/or potentialities which later events of the piece will resolve\u201d (1982\u20131983, 341). Venn similarly uses this notion of \u201cmusical tensions\u201d and \u201cpattern[s] of inclusion and exclusion\u201d to describe how we might understand the first movement \u201cin terms of the \u2018symphonic logic\u2019 arising from the interaction between a long, unfolding melody and the semi- independent harmonic environments through which it passes\u201d (43). Venn\u2019s most compelling analytical readings highlight these kinds of \u201cmusical problems\u201d in <em>Asyla&nbsp;<\/em>and how these pitch deviations resolve (or not) in the course of a single movement or the entire composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An especially enlightening discussion in Venn\u2019s monograph concerns how <em>Asyla&nbsp;<\/em>relates to the symphonic genre. In Chapter 2, Venn reviews the public and scholarly debates surrounding the \u201csymphonic logic\u201d of <em>Asyla<\/em>, noting that even \u201cAd\u00e8s avoids describing <em>Asyla <\/em>as a symphony, despite being in four movements and employing&nbsp;an orchestra\u201d (38). Venn further recognizes that \u201c[t]he early publicity for <em>Asyla <\/em>made much of the <em>. . . <\/em>strained relationship between the work and the symphony as&nbsp;genre\u201d (38). This contentious relationship is a&nbsp;theme&nbsp;that surfaces throughout Venn\u2019s book. For instance, the title of Chapter 3 alone (\u201c \u2018Trying to find refuge\u2019: The symphonic logic of the first movement\u201d) indicates that this topic will be addressed. And in Chapter 5, Venn writes, \u201c \u2018Ecstasio\u2019 [the third movement] is thus characterised by its precarious balance between the foreground trappings&nbsp;of EDM and certain musical developmental processes associated with the symphonic genre\u201d (99). This argument recalls James Hepokoski\u2019s notion of \u201cdialogic form\u201d (2009). Hepokoski suggests \u201cthat grasping the full range of an implicit musical form is most essentially a task of reconstructing a processual dialogue between any individual work (or section thereof) and the charged network of generic norms, guidelines, possibilities, expectations, and limits provided by the implied genre at hand\u201d (2009, 71). To argue that <em>Asyla <\/em>is or is not a symphony misses the point. It is more important to recognize that the expressive power of <em>Asyla <\/em>results from how the symphonic logic of the piece&nbsp;is&nbsp;in dialogue with&nbsp;traditional definitions of a symphony, and this is beautifully captured in Venn\u2019s approach. After all, one of Venn\u2019s goals for his monograph is to \u201cenabl[e] readers to reach their own alternative interpretive conclusions\u201d (xv).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Venn\u2019s <em>Thomas Ad\u00e8s:&nbsp;<\/em>Asyla serves as an invaluable source for a deeper understanding of Ad\u00e8s\u2019s orchestral work. One may assume from the title that this study is focused just on <em>Asyla<\/em>, but the monograph is not exclusively devoted to discussions and analyses of its musical structure. Although the central part of the book is dedicated to an analysis of the score, Venn places the work in a broader cultural context and Ad\u00e8s\u2019s position within it. Indeed, Venn\u2019s scholarly book is a pioneering work for prospective Ad\u00e8s studies, and future commentaries and analytical studies that focus on Ad\u00e8s\u2019s music will no doubt draw inspiration from Venn\u2019s monograph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Philip Stoecker is Associate Professor and Chair of the Music Department at Hofstra University. His research interests include the music of Thomas Ad\u00e8s, George Perle, and the Second Viennese School. He has presented papers at meetings of the Society for Music Theory, Music Theory Midwest, Music Theory Society of New York State, and other regional and international conferences. His articles and reviews have appeared in <em>Journal of Music Theory<\/em>, <em>Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy<\/em>, <em>Music Analysis<\/em>, <em>Music Theory and Analysis<\/em>, <em>Music Theory Online<\/em>, <em>Music Theory Spectrum<\/em>, and <em>Theory and Practice<\/em>. He currently serves as Secretary of the Society for Music Theory.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:70px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>References<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ad\u00e8s, Thomas. 1999. \u201c \u2018Nothing but Pranks and Puns\u2019: Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s Solo Piano Music.\u201d In <em>Jan\u00e1\u010dek Studies<\/em>, edited by Paul Wingfield, 18\u201335. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ad\u00e8s, Thomas, and London Symphony Orchestra. 2017. Ad\u00e8s: <em>Asyla, Tevot, Polaris <\/em>(LSO Live: LSO0798).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ad\u00e8s, Thomas, and Tom Service. 2012. <em>Thomas Ad\u00e8s:Full of <\/em>sic of Thomas Ad\u00e8s.\u201d <em>Music Analysis<\/em>25 (1\u20132): 121\u2013154.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Noise: Conversations with Tom Service<\/em>. New York: Farrar,   2009. \u201cA Transformational Space Structuring the<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Straus and Giroux. Cao, H\u00e9l\u00e8ne. 2007. <em>Thomas Ad\u00e8s Le Voyageur: Devenir compositeur. \u00catre musicien<\/em>. Paris: \u00c9ditions M.F.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fox, Christopher. 2004. \u201cTempestuous Times: The Recent Music of Thomas Ad\u00e8s.\u201d <em>Musical Times <\/em>145: 41\u201356.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hepokoski, James. 2009. \u201cSonata Theory and Dialogic Form.\u201d In <em>Musical Form, Forms &amp; Formenlehre: Three Methodological Reflections<\/em>, edited by Pieter Berg\u00e9, 71\u201389. Leuven: University of Leuven Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lewin, David. 1982\u20131983. \u201cTransformational Techniques in Atonal and other Music Theories.\u201d <em>Perspectives of New Music<\/em>21 (1\u20132): 312\u2013371.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Roeder, John. 2006. \u201cCo-operating Continuities in the Music of Thomas Ad\u00e8s.\u201d Music Analysis 25 (1\u20132): 121\u2013154.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014\u2014\u2014. 2009. \u201cA Transformational Space Structuring the Counterpoint in Ad\u00e8s\u2019s \u2018Auf dem Wasser zu singen\u2019.\u201d <em>Music Theory Online&nbsp;<\/em>15 (1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Travers, Aaron. 2004. Interval Cycles, Their Permutations and Generative Properties in Thomas Ad\u00e8s\u2019s <em>Asyla<\/em>. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Rochester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Venn, Edward. 2006. \u201c \u2018Asylum Gained\u2019? Aspects of Meaning in Thomas Ad\u00e8s\u2019s <em>Asyla<\/em>.\u201d <em>MusicAnalysis<\/em>25 (1\u20132): 89\u2013120.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014\u2014\u2014. 2014. \u201cThomas Ad\u00e8s\u2019s \u2018Freaky Funky Rave\u2019.\u201d <em>Music Analysis <\/em>33 (1): 65\u201398.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014\u2014\u2014. 2015. \u201cThomas Ad\u00e8s and the Spectres of <em>Brahms<\/em>.\u201d <em>Journal of the Royal Musical Association<\/em> 140 (1): 163\u2013212.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Philip Stoecker View PDF\ufeff The life and works of British composer Thomas Ad\u00e8s (b. 1971) have recently garnered much critical attention. Since the early 2000s, the number of scholarly articles and dissertations about Ad\u00e8s\u2019s compositions and his compositional procedures has steadily increased and shows no signs of slowing down. The first book published about Ad\u00e8s\u2019s &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/32-2018\/stoecker\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Review of Thomas Ad\u00e8s: Asyla, by Edward Venn, 2017&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":1446,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-615","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7600,"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/615\/revisions\/7600"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}