Harmonium is a composition for chorus and orchestra by the American composer John Adams, written in 1980-1981 for the first season of Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, California. The work is based on poetry by John Donne and Emily Dickinson and is regarded as one of the key compositions of Adams' "minimalist" period.[1]
"Because I could not stop for Death" ends with an orchestral interlude that segues into "Wild Nights" without a pause. A typical performance takes about 35 minutes.
Timothy Johnson has discussed various aspects of the harmonic language of Harmonium in detail.[5] K. Robert Schwarz has noted the influence of the musical techniques of Steve Reich on Harmonium, and also has commented on the less schematic and more "intuitive" manner of Adams' composition in the work.[6]
"Negative Love" is featured in the film Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol (1990).[7]
^Clements, Andrew (December 1987). "Reports: Birmingham". The Musical Times. 128 (1738). The Musical Times, Vol. 128, No. 1738: 706–709. doi:10.2307/964828. JSTOR964828.
^Rye, Matthew (November 1990). "Opera, Concert and Festival Reports: London, Proms 1". The Musical Times. 131 (1773): 606–620. doi:10.2307/966196. JSTOR966196.
^Johnson, Timothy A. (Spring 1993). "Harmonic Vocabulary in the Music of John Adams: A Hierarchical Approach". Journal of Music Theory. 37 (1). Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 37, No. 1: 117–156. doi:10.2307/843946. JSTOR843946.
^Schwarz, K. Robert (Autumn 1990). "Process vs. Intuition in the Recent Works of Steve Reich and John Adams". American Music. 8 (3). American Music, Vol. 8, No. 3: 245–273. doi:10.2307/3052096. JSTOR3052096.