Minimalism on Stage

Let’s talk a little bit about Musical Theater.

Indisputably one of the most important cornerstones of the Arts, Musical Theater combines Drama and Songwriting to create a form of storytelling unlike any other. The use of Music allows for smoother pacing and better showing of otherwise ungodly long and utterly boring sequences. Likewise, the use of music (when used well, of course) betters displays the emotion of a scene than with words and action alone.

But in order for this to work, the music must be expressive, be able to capture the pure essence of a scene, above all, be flexible. Which begs the question: can something as inexpressive, un-capturing, and inflexible as Minimalist Music work for a piece of Musical Theater?

Oddly enough, yes. Yes it can. It is incredibly difficult, considering the aforementioned limitations, but it can be done, and the proof of that lies in the stage works of Philip Glass.

In traditional opera, music provides the emotional backbone to a story, whether it’s lighthearted or serious. This is exemplified in the opening number of one of Glass’ better known minimal operas, Akhnaten, “Funeral of Amenhoetp III”.

The minimalist elements one would come to expect are there, though it sounds like the Moondog equivalent of The Imperial March. Yet, there’s nothing there that sounds truly mournful. Sure, there is the Egyptian text glorifying the late king (as they should, he was the guy who brought all of Egypt together), but the piece is up tempo. There’s nothing really there that truly suggests a state of mourning.

But remember, this is Ancient Egypt this opera is being set in. This was the time of the Pharaohs, of the Sphinxes, a time where having your internal organs getting sucked out of your body with a bendy straw was considered not only socially acceptable but also desirable.

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In fact, based on observations of hieroglyphics and ancient paintings and carvings, a composer named Jeffery Goodman believes that the spirit song of King Tutankhamun may have sounded something like this:

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that was a Native American tune written by Edgard Varese or Steve Reich or something. But no. That’s a modern interpretation of genuine Ancient Egyptian drumming music.

Now, to be fair, it’s hard to tell if Glass even knew of these artifacts’ existence, let alone know how to dissect them, so it’s more than likely that this is merely a coincidence. However, the similarities are striking, from the constant repetitions to the hypnotic factors and even the similarities in bass lines between the two pieces. It’s unclear what Glass was thinking when he wrote Akhnaten, but it’s clear that he had a bit of an idea of what he was doing.

Now, Akhnaten isn’t a typical Minimalist piece. It has a large orchestra and other factors that were designed to help the more mainstream audience ease in more to the idea of Minimalist Music. This next example, on the other hand, is pure minimalism throughout.

Einstein on the Beach began as a collaboration between Cage and director Robert Wilson. Their eventual agreement that the end goal would be an opera of around 4-5 hours centered around a historical figure. And after some name tossing (including Mahatma Gandhi and Adolf Hitler), they eventually settled on Albert Einstein. Every aspect of the play thus revolves around aspects of Einstein’s life; his Theory of Relativity frames the three major scenes in the play.

As for the actual story...there isn’t any. Wilson was a believer in formalism, where the music is supposed to excite the emotions of its listener, such as Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. This way, Wilson claims that more truth on stage is presented than a naturalist work can do. The text is thus filled with mostly solfege, numbers, and short sections of poetry.

Einstein on the Beach consists of five continuous acts, separated by 20 minute interludes called “Knee Scenes”. Below is the first of these that starts the opera.

As you can hear, the piece is incredibly minimalist. There’s constant repetition of the numbers in the choir (a possible reference to Einstein’s various mathematical and scientific discoveries), but it’s the chord progression in this piece which is the true standout of this piece. According to Professor Timothy Johnson says that in every Knee Piece, there are repetitive formulae simple triads that reach a goal, repeated again and again in a hypnotic pattern. In this case, vi-V-I. It ironically takes much for a piece to be minimal. It requires just the right combination of elements to make minimalist music minimalist music, and Einstein on the Beach not only hits those elements perfectly but does so to motion.

Einstein on the Beach is a landmark opera, setting the stage for operas like it to come.

Returning to my original question: can Minimalist Music be used effectively in Theatrical Performance? The answer is a clear “Yes”, but the result is unlike anything the world has seen before. In fact, there are some people who refuse to consider Einstein on the Beach an opera. In fact, this kind of performance can loosely be considered Performance Art because it goes against every convention ever brought forth on stage. But there is no rule that says Minimalism can not be incorporated at all. And when it’s done right, the result is magic.