New York-born flute and trumpet player Rhys Chatham (1952), a student of
Morton Subotnick and then La Monte Young,
and founder of the music program at the Kitchen Center (1971),
joined the avantgarde with compositions in just intonation and compositions incorporating the overtone series,
such as the mesmerizing Two Gongs (1971) and
Still Sound In Motion (1973);
but also bridged rock music and the avantgarde
with compositions such as Guitar Trio (1977),
collected with other works on
Factor X (Moers Music, 1983),
Drastic Classicism (1981), that weds a high-speed locomotive rhythm
and hysterically distorted metallic strings,
Minerva (1988),
and
The Heart Cries with Many Voices (1990) for voice, guitars, bass and drums.
Die Donnergotter (Dossier, 1986 - Table Of The Elements, 2006) contained
the 22-minute Die Donnergotter (1986), Guitar Trio (1977) and
the tribal atonal infernal 19-minute Massacre On MacDougal Street (1982) for
four trumpets, three trombones and tuba,
perhaps his masterpiece.
He also worked on multimedia projects, notably
the opera XS (1986) in collaboration with visual artist Joseph Nechvatal.
The five-movement
An Angel Moves Too Fast To See (1989),
Warehouse of Saints - Songs for Spies (1991) and
Tauromaquia (1993) were all scored for 100 electric guitars, bass and drums.
A Rhys Chatham Compendium (Table of the Elements, 2002) and
the three-CD box-set An Angel Moves Too Fast To See (Table of Elements, 2003) are career-spanning anthologies.
Two Gongs (1971) was also released on Two Gongs (Table Of The Elements, 2006).
His interest for chamber music of a more conventional kind, already manifested
in For Brass (1982), collected with other works on
Factor X (Moers Music, 1983) and later renamed Massacre on MacDougal St,
blossomed with
Les Vespres de la Vierge (1992) for voice, trumpets, saxophones, trombone, tuba, percussion.
Chatham the trumpet player enjoyed polluting
jazz, avantgarde, techno, trip-hop and acid-rock in
the EP Neon (NTone, 1996) and Septile (NTone, 1998).
and recorded
Hardedge (Wire Editions, 1999), mixing his trumpet with a crew of
improvisors and drum machines.
He has also performed a Symphony No 4 (1994) for full orchestra.
Echo Solo (Table of the Elements, 2004) collects two improvised
pieces for just-intoned piano.
Three Aspects of the Name (Table of the Elements, 2004) documents
a vocal piece that employs a minimalist technique of gradual development
by iteration (a` la Steve Reich).
A Crimson Grail (Table Of The Elements, 2007) is an ambitious piece
for 400 electric guitars premiered in 2005 in Paris' basilica of Sacre-Coeur.
Unlike his early works, this piece indulges in static drones and ecstatic
atmospheres. The first movement rises and decays in a majestic manner
like a cosmic wind, the orchestra basically divided in two groups, one of
countless guitars strumming in unison like one giant string instrument and one
of guitars that emit choir-like drones. The latter seem to prevail achieving
a Verdi-an intensity.
The monolithic cohesive power of the first movement is completely lost in the
much looser second movement, that even sounds like the orchestra is simply
tuning the instruments and rehearsing rather than performing a score, even
though suddenly the indolent strumming comes together for a formidable
collective orgasm. The third movement is one colossal wall of droning that
gets bigger and bigger, a tidal wave that approaches at a slow but steady pace.
Unfortunately Chatham does not know how to capitalize on the effect after
he has created it and the movement ends abruptly.
The triple-disc
Guitar Trio Is My Life (Table Of The Elements) documents three performances of his Guitar Trio.
Outdoor Spell (Northern Spy, 2011) contains chamber pieces composed in 2009, notably Outdoor Spell for trumpet and voice, the solo-trumpet piece Crossing the Sword Bridge of the Abyss, Corn Maiden's Rite is for trumpet cajon (a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru), and The Magician for trumpet, electric guitar, and drums.
Reve Parisian (Primary Information, 2011) collects three compositions
for solo trumpet and one long compositions for
for multiple trumpets, Un Chanson Si Vieille.
Harmonie du Soir (Northern Spy, 2013) contains three compositions.
Harmonie du Soir (2012), apparently
unrelated to Franz Liszt's etude transcendante, was scored for
six electric guitars, electric bass and drums (the same orchestration as
Die Donnergotter). It builds up to an anthemic gallop
with ska-tinged metronomy, then suddenly it implodes into
a chaotic noisy jam and it restarts in a warmer quasi-jazz style.
The Dream of Rhonabwy (2012) for a 70-piece brass ensemble and percussion
begins like a pensive funeral march but in the second half it loses its way,
hijacked by exotic detours and psychedelic drones.
By comparison,
the shorter Drastic Classicism Revisited (2012) is a slab of
visceral punk-rock, a calculated onslaught of
frenzied rhythm and ear-splitting dissonance,
and, by far, the most exciting piece on this album.
The triple-disc Youuu + Mee = Weee (Sub Rosa, 2014) documents a collaboration between Charlemagne Palestine and Rhys Chatham.
Pythagorean Dream (Foom, 2016), enterely performed by him on electric guitar, flute and trumpet, contains the lengthy suite
Pythagorean Dream
and the 14-minute Whitechapel Brass Variations.