Adams: I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky
4/18/2006, 24 Tracks, 1:55:56
Featuring
Martina Muhlpointner
Kimako Xavier Trotman
Markus Alexander Neisser
Jeannette Friedrich
Darius de Haas
Lilith Gardell
Jonas Holst
Klaus Simon
Holst-Sinfonietta
John Adams
Did you know?
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Compositional Technique
The work is scored for a 'rock band' of voices, clarinet, saxophone, keyboards, guitar, bass, and percussion, ranging in style from gospel and jazz to rock and pop.
Recording & Production
This recording was made at Tonstudio Oase, Freiburg-Wolfenweiler, Germany, and Tonstudio R, Vienna, Austria, in early 2004.
Compositional Technique
The libretto by June Jordan skilfully weaves everyday speech patterns into a lyrical text.
Composer Biography
The music for this Song Play was composed by John Adams, born in 1947.
Composition History
John Adams's "I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky" (1995) is a Song Play in Two Acts.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The Song Play combines social criticism and a love story, chronicling the lives of seven young Los Angeleans from different social and ethnic backgrounds.
Composition History
The libretto for this work was written by June Jordan (1936-2002), a writer and civil rights champion.
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