This piece is called Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues by Frederic Rzewski. This piece depicts inhumane labor practices in the 1930's, specifically in a textile mill plant in Winnsboro, South Carolina, where the workers would sing songs about the working conditions to promote unity and solidarity within the workforce. Rzewski reinterprets this and creates an atmosphere with his instrument that I find poignant and thorough depiction, especially in the beginning where he uses his elbow and forearm to recreate the sound of a cotton mill.
Friday, January 17, 2020
Blog 2 inés hidalgo
This piece is called Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues by Frederic Rzewski. This piece depicts inhumane labor practices in the 1930's, specifically in a textile mill plant in Winnsboro, South Carolina, where the workers would sing songs about the working conditions to promote unity and solidarity within the workforce. Rzewski reinterprets this and creates an atmosphere with his instrument that I find poignant and thorough depiction, especially in the beginning where he uses his elbow and forearm to recreate the sound of a cotton mill.
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That intro was incredible, I've never seen anyone play piano like that before. What it transforms into from there is beautiful and haunting at the same time. Seeing the way his hands jump up and down in such a frantic way that I would imagine reflects conditions of the textile mill. This is also a great example of seeing how such a clear feeling can be communicated even without words. Even if I didn't know what it was referencing, that feeling of anger and protest is palpable.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen protest music where the physical execution of creating the music is also an important part of the message. The way he creates the environment around his listeners and delivers an image of genuine effort to create the sonic atmosphere is enticing. The deep piano chords and rash steps between notes delivers a story and scares me.
ReplyDeleteThe piano is hugely a symbol of the economic and political elite. They're expensive and almost always heard only in concert settings. That is why I love the appropriation of the instrument for a protest piece for worker's rights. Using a symbol of wealth to create a piece like this sends a strong message, that the poor can not be tuned out and will always persevere.
ReplyDeleteFantastic! Here is an excerpt from the original lyrics:
ReplyDeleteWhen I die don’t bury me at all
Just hang me up on the spoolroom wall.
Place a knotter in my hand
So I can keep on spoolin’ in the Promised Land.
I got the Blues, I got the Blues,
I got the Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues. Lordy, Lordy, spoolin’s hard.
You know and I know, I don’t have to tell, Work for Tom Watson, got to work like hell.
I got the Blues, I got the Blues,
I got the Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues.
I thought this piece was a very powerful exploration into extended timbres available on the piano. The way those hammerlike plucks blend in and out of the blues denotes the mechanical wash over the workers very well
ReplyDeleteThis is an effective piece of protest music. What specifically draws me in is the relentless intensity of the piece as well as the constant dissonance. The piece never seems to truly resolve by classical conservatory standards, and seemingly breaks all of the rules.
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you for sharing this! He definitely creates an atmosphere in the beginning that can't go unnoticed. I'm drawn to the coiling of his hands that maybe could be seen as a physical depiction of some of the cotton mill work. From a movement perspective, I can't help but to visualize the motion he's bringing forth in his detailed and energized performance.
ReplyDeleteI love how pianists can really show emotion physically in their playing. I think about that a lot when learning a new piece on bassoon, just because my instrument is a bit more constraining that something like a piano. Depending on whoever is performing on live instruments during these project performances, we could really consider what we convey through our bodies movements, apart from our instruments.
ReplyDeleteIt was really incredible how in the beginning the pianist brought out the mechanical qualities of the piano through repetition. There were times when I felt I wasn't listening to a piano at all. The endless quality of the loud mechanical portions made the lyrical moments seem like a reprieve, as I am sure it must have felt to the workers. It seems like a very narrative rendering which I think lends itself to illustrating what working at this place must have actually been like.
ReplyDeleteThis song is so much like the Black Midi song I shared. It directly speaks to the harsh and difficult situation of those who are oppressed by immoral labor practices. This route of protest is so directly effective because of how human and visceral the sounds are that represent the content of the protest. So powerful, and sticks with me for so long.
ReplyDelete