Bird Watching 2

While talking with and watching Eighth Blackbird, I was struck by the atmosphere generated by the group. As with Alarm Will Sound, the mood was relaxed, but goal oriented. Members would offer criticism and jokes freely and often in tandem. Yarn/Wire, the other group in the ethnography, created a much less festive atmosphere. A much younger group, Y/W was serious, though I think that my presence made them uncomfortable. Because there is no role for a silent observer in rehearsals, my presence can disturb and change the setting. Over time the ethnographer's presence often becomes less disturbing, but I worry that I won't be able to accomplish that level of comfort with the groups. Maybe that's a problem, maybe it's not.

As I've blogged before, new music ensembles generally demonstrate more physical empowerment than most traditional classical music ensembles. At 8bb's concert I spoke with a woman who felt the same way. She described why she enjoyed new music concerts, "I like a lot of African music, where the music is the body is the performance... and I just don't feel like I see that at orchestra concerts." The emphasis on the performance as text, rather than the idea that the text exists beyond or outside of performance, is common among new music ensembles. This represents a fundamental change in classical music culture, where deified composers are brought into the concert hall and worshiped. I remember, for example, taking a road trip with a friend to hear the Atlanta Symphony play Mahler's 1st Symphony. We were excited to hear a great orchestra, but the piece (the text) was what got us in the car for 4 hours. When you go to hear an Eighth Blackbird concert, the music is certainly a draw, but most people go for the group, rather than the "music itself". It seems that classical music may be in the midst of a serious change in ritual, which suggests a serious change in belief.