Joey Gibbs

Equus by Eric Whitacre: Things Never Were so Crazy

1) On first listen, what do you think of the piece? Please be

specific! Use times from the recording if you would like to
refer to particular section.

This piece is wild. Right from the start of this piece its very hectic, but its
soothing in a subtle and tensing way. When the low brass enter, Im feeling
this heavy 20s mob boss movie villain entrance vibe and when the trumpets
come in; it is like the mob bosss subjects are starting to join in on the fun of
the crime. The slight buildup from the repeated phrase leading into a stark
and sudden symbol crash, like a gun shot, and then fading away into nothing
really helps solidify and continue this mob boss picture. Honestly, and it
might be the recording, but the clarinet player is putting zero emotion into
the solo like whoever is playing it is making sounds like a tinkling background
decoration. The tension is there but it isnt anything special. The
accompaniment building though behind the soloist is amazing and its very
exciting; it sounds like theres something mischievous going on after the
toyshop closes. The tone shifted so suddenly yet so greatly; Im not even
picturing the mob boss scene anymore but like toys coming to life and
grandly dancing. This piece really makes me want to get up and melodically
tiptoe around. This piece really exemplifies buildups that deceive, again with
that sort of mischievous theme, you and climax into sudden piano moments.
I literally jumped at 2:49 I was so surprised the whole wall of sound just
came out of nowhere. Its getting wild but not good wild, like scary wild.
There are a lot of repeated fast tense phrases that are juxtaposed among the
quieter but equally intense ones that makes this piece so chaotic and
shocking because you dont know what is coming next. I really like the part
at 3:17, I think its pretty; were back to that ballroom dance kind of style. I
dont know what instrument is playing that solo at 3:51 but it sounds so
traditional and beautiful even a little nostalgic. Those trumpets at 4:07 are
like chivalrous knights making their entrance; its very stoic and great. 4:13
is a total change of tone, now weve entered medieval fantasy with very
heavy brass sound leading the charge into battle. At 4:51, with the somber
intensity, more legato melody, and the repeated phrases simmered down,
weve reached the near end of the battle and were looking at the aftermath.
Around 5:09, weve yet again entered another new story. This part of the
piece is very relaxing but it feels suspicious, like even though a situation may
seem good on the surface, deep down it really isnt. I cant really describe
the haunting low brass birdcalls at 5:36, maybe they are like the harbingers
of the bad news or the realization that something is not right. This piece,
although you can tell the climatic moments, really dont continue to be
satisfying. Like at 5:48, its a really pretty conversation but it still elicits in me
that something is wrong. There was a really loud and I feel totally out of
place exclamation moment at 6:23I honestly cant keep up with this piece
its so out of hand. The ending though, from 8:15 on, its just so wild and
exciting. Its like a two people trying to speak to each other while a
humongous crowd of rowdy shouting people is in between them. It just keeps
going faster and faster and repeatingIm shook. From 8:50 on, the
decoration sound effects are harbingers of the ending of this piece that no
one in the world can predict because this piece is so chaotic. Then it ends on
a cliffhanger; the fist of sound came down and now what?

2) How does listening to music by a composer of a piece we are

performing help you?

Listening to music by a composer of a piece we are performing helps

because it is like seeing a whole new side of them that we need to
understand in order to fully encompass our understanding of a piece. By
listening to another piece, we can see what similarities it has to the piece we
are performing. Its like, what is written on the staff is an essay question that
requires both our opinion (how we interpret the piece) and some research
(listening to other pieces by the composer) to answer and support it.

3) Describe this music. You can either use emotions or write a

story to go with it. What do you think Whitacre was thinking
about when he composed this?

I really answered the description question in the first one and you this piece
is hard to have a coherent story for because its constantly changingwhich
might reflect how Whitacre felt when he composed this. Honestly, and Im no
physiatrist, but Whitacre might be insane. Both this and Give Us This Day are
so somber and wildly changing that Whitacre either cannot make up his mind
or he has two totally different personalities stuck inside his musical mind.
Maybe he just divorced his wife when he wrote this and the battle between
the somber tone and the bombastic repeated phrases describe the constant
problems that occurred in his marriage and then the quieter less intense
parts declare the moments of silence where another argument is brewing.
Its ironic that he uses biblical references and allusions in his pieces because
he really needs Jesus.