Santa Clara Vanguard 2010

[scv guy]

I love SCV. But I watched the 2010 Family Day show on You Tube & quite honestly I have no idea what in the world the show designers were thinking. Non stop avant garde mayhem without any melody just doesn't do it for me.

Gosh I miss Appalachian Spring.

I hear ya Bro, but just wait. The ending has just been added. From another SCV Alum, "5th movement drill - OMG!!". So, stay tuned!

[sky79]

When it comes to " tonality", I 'm in the Milton Babbitt camp that thinks Bartok blows...his confusing chords are passe and old hat. Bartok couldn't sell his obscure compositions sufficient enough to even give himself a proper burial for heavens sake. He lived in poverty and without the financial assistance of friends that provided for food, clothing and shelter, he would have died on the street... as it was he couldn't command a dozen people to attend his funeral. Look, I have nothing against Bartok, as he's the apparent love of the US and western world music intelligensia these days... but many of the most up to date anaysis of this composer's work is less than flattering to say the least. Babbit for one. Bartok was boring then. He's boring today. But hey, that' just my opinion here, too.

Sorry to digress again for just a moment, but are you referring to Babbitt's 1949 critique of the Bartok String Quartets? This is the most up-to-date analysis you could find? Perhaps you are referring to something more recent, but that article is all I could find, and although it was not exactly complimentary, Babbitt didn't come anywhere close to saying that Bartok's music "blows" (or whatever the 1949 equivalent would be). I would also disagree with your statement that Bartok is the "apparent love of the US and western world music intelligensia (sic)." I'm not sure where you came up with that bit of hyperbole.

To be more on topic, hooray for SCV doing something a little controversial and risky. I haven't heard a note of the show- maybe I won't be crazy about it- but I respect what they are doing, and I trust that their interpretation will be reasonably close to the source material, unlike what some other corps are willing to do to their music (Crown's distortion of Revueltas's Sensemaya last year comes to mind...).

[Room_101]

I applaud SCV for staying true to the MUSIC instead of just playing loud, audience pleasing chords, or whatever it is some of you hacks want to hear.

Bartok was an incredible musician, plain and simple. Bravo to the Vanguard for trying to stay as true to his visions as possible, perhaps at the extent of pleasing some of the audience.

[FTNK]

My intellectual curiousity is already being maxed out trying to figure out how the shows of these Corps corresponds to their stated theme for the show.

So you're basically admitting that you're dumb.

[Matt_S]

Any show that pisses off BRASSO and LSU Grad sounds very promising indeed.

When I first heard about this show I was disappointed; my fear was that SCV would stick to the 2nd and 5th movements of Concerto for Orchestra, like Phantom did, as those are the most accessible and the safest sections to translate to the field. I was also worried that the 2010 show would be in the same character as the 2009 show. I enjoyed Ballet for Martha for what it was, but can't really say the show took me anywhere new. I've listened to the source material for the 2010 show many times, and my concern in the offseason was that SCV wouldn't take me anywhere new this year, either. This thread's been encouraging, because it appears my fears are completely unfounded. I've been pining for another DCI show to make me "uncomfortable" for a long time now. The Blue Knights have come close at times, especially in 2006, and I'm thirsting for a similar voice.

After reading this thread, now I can't wait to see this show.

[KeepItReal]

Any show that pisses off BRASSO and LSU Grad sounds very promising indeed.

When I first heard about this show I was disappointed; my fear was that SCV would stick to the 2nd and 5th movements of Concerto for Orchestra, like Phantom did, as those are the most accessible and the safest sections to translate to the field. I was also worried that the 2010 show would be in the same character as the 2009 show. I enjoyed Ballet for Martha for what it was, but can't really say the show took me anywhere new. I've listened to the source material for the 2010 show many times, and my concern in the offseason was that SCV wouldn't take me anywhere new this year, either. This thread's been encouraging, because it appears my fears are completely unfounded. I've been pining for another DCI show to make me "uncomfortable" for a long time now. The Blue Knights have come close at times, especially in 2006, and I'm thirsting for a similar voice.

After reading this thread, now I can't wait to see this show.

Hehehe

The Dark Vanguard cometh

And I cant wait!

[BigDale]

The Dark Vanguard cometh

So Mote It Be.

[MrBud]

I think MOST DRUM CORPS are boring these days...

I just came back from a show in EWING, NJ last night. The talent level of these corps is AMAZING! TOTALLY AMAZING! however, when i asked my wife, did she like it, she said "NO" ...There was not 1 corps that played a tune that anyone could recognize. It was all scales runs, Loud pops, the alot of percussion, with every color guard looking the same with their dancing rifles, and dancing sabres, and dancing flags. They should all be ballerinas, not guard members....

As far as Bartok - It is not that different from anyone else..To me - it is ALL THE SAME - BORING for the average fan, interesting for the musician and judge, and the younger generation has NO INTEREST IN IT AT ALL. They better keep the talent levels high, otherwise...Drum Corps will die for sure!

[kdaddy]

When I first heard about this show I was disappointed; my fear was that SCV would stick to the 2nd and 5th movements of Concerto for Orchestra, like Phantom did, as those are the most accessible and the safest sections to translate to the field. I was also worried that the 2010 show would be in the same character as the 2009 show. I enjoyed Ballet for Martha for what it was, but can't really say the show took me anywhere new. I've listened to the source material for the 2010 show many times, and my concern in the offseason was that SCV wouldn't take me anywhere new this year, either. This thread's been encouraging, because it appears my fears are completely unfounded. I've been pining for another DCI show to make me "uncomfortable" for a long time now. The Blue Knights have come close at times, especially in 2006, and I'm thirsting for a similar voice.

I don't think this show will make you feel "uncomfortable." I mean, it harkens 1998, but it doesn't cause a lack of comfort... :)

I love the transition between Music for Strings et al. and Concerto for Orchestra IV - from harshness and big drill move to pop-ish/almost jazzy melody. Wonderful.

I haven't seen much mention of drill on here. I've seen only the Stanford video, and I think the drill is more representative of what they did last year than the other Rosander/Weber years.

[BMBob]

I think MOST DRUM CORPS are boring these days...

I just came back from a show in EWING, NJ last night. The talent level of these corps is AMAZING! TOTALLY AMAZING! however, when i asked my wife, did she like it, she said "NO" ...There was not 1 corps that played a tune that anyone could recognize. It was all scales runs, Loud pops, the alot of percussion, with every color guard looking the same with their dancing rifles, and dancing sabres, and dancing flags. They should all be ballerinas, not guard members....

As far as Bartok - It is not that different from anyone else..To me - it is ALL THE SAME - BORING for the average fan, interesting for the musician and judge, and the younger generation has NO INTEREST IN IT AT ALL. They better keep the talent levels high, otherwise...Drum Corps will die for sure!

I still get really confused every time I see people saying that they don't like things because they don't recognize tunes. How would music in any genre ever progress if there weren't any tunes that one had not heard before? This opinion gets to me more than any others.

That being said, Bartok (along with Mahler, Copland, Stravinsky, and many, many others) all wrote music that is considered quality, and at times includes the "pops" you mention and some other things that some may hear as strange. We may not like all of what a corps plays, but I for one do not want every year to be a medley of Appalachian Spring, Malaguena, and Westside Story, even though I LOVE all of those.

As far as the younger generation having no interest, perhaps it is because they haven't been made to really listen. In the band programs I work with, the kids play shows consisting of symphonic, wind band, and various other types of music. We have them listen to different settings of it, similar pieces, other works by the composers, and whatnot. All of them end up liking a good portion of it. Not all like it all. Interestingly enough, the "younger generation," as described most often in relation to being disinterested, seems to be down on the slow ballads, while the students I work with almost always end up with the ballads being their favorite movement (except for the overzealous low brass players, lol).

A little bit of time dedicated to learning about what you're playing/listening to does wonders for "interest."