All Rise was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and Kurt Masur as the last of the millennial compositions of 1999. After the premiere in December 1999, it was performed and recorded by Sony Classical at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by Esa-Pekka Salonen just days after 9/11. The other orchestras which have performed All Rise include the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de France, the Russian National Orchestra, the Czech National Orchestra, the Boston, San Francisco and Chicago Symphony Orchestras. All of these performances have been monumental.
When the Boston Symphony performed All Rise, they created an in-depth educational website in partnership with Northeastern University. Please visit this site for a complete understanding of the piece ... read full bio
All Rise was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and Kurt Masur as the last of the millennial compositions of 1999. After the premiere in December 1999, it was performed and recorded by Sony Classical at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by Esa-Pekka Salonen just days after 9/11. The other orchestras which have performed All Rise include the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de France, the Russian National Orchestra, the Czech National Orchestra, the Boston, San Francisco and Chicago Symphony Orchestras. All of these performances have been monumental.
When the Boston Symphony performed All Rise, they created an in-depth educational website in partnership with Northeastern University. Please visit this site for a complete understanding of the piece.
These are Mr. Marsalis' comments about the work:
The 20th was the century of communication. The 21st will be the century of integration. Our rapidly developing global community is the most exciting modern reality. But to the first jazz musicians in New Orleans some 100 years ago, the global village was already real. Pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton said, "We had all nations in New Orleans, but with the music, we could creep in closer to other people." Today the world is so small, we don't need music to creep in closer to other people: we are close. The larger questions of this moment is how will we translate our differences into a collective creativity?
That's where the blues comes in. The blues is an approach to harmony, a way of rhythm and a body of vocal textures sung through horns. It's a melodic attitude featuring minor in the major mode and major in the minor mode, the pentatonic scales of Eastern music, the quarter tones and altered scales of Near and Middle Eastern music. The blues is call and response, as well as the high shuffle of a cowbell in some thick African drum stretto. But mostly, it is an attitude towards life, celebrating transcendence through acceptance of what is and proceeding from there in a straight line to the nearest groove. With the blues you got to give some to get some.
All Rise is structured in the form of a 12 bar blues. It is separated into three sections of 4 movements. Each section expresses different moments in the progression of experiences that punctuate our lives. It is a personal and communal progression. The first four movements are concerned with birth and self-discovery; they are joyous. The second four movements are concerned with mistakes, pain, sacrifice and redemption. They are somber and poignant. The last four are concerned with maturity and joy.
All Rise contains elements of many things I consider to be related to the blues: the didgeridoo, ancient Greek harmonies and modes, New Orleans brass bands, the fiddler's reel, clave, samba, the down home church service, Chinese parade bands, the Italian aria, the plain ol' down home ditties. Instead of combining many different styles on top of a vamp, I try to hear how they are the same. In attempting to unite disparate and large forces, everyone has to give up something in order to achieve a greater whole. The jazz band has to play more 2/4 marches and ostinato bass grooves, while the orchestra has to adapt to a percussive roughness and the metronomic dictates of a rhythm section. The choir must do lots of waiting. The fun is in the working together.
