| Numinous The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr. |
Year 2: 2001
Numinous at 25
2. 2001
#numinous25
#numinousmusic25
Our second performance was at the Brooklyn Park Slope Festival on May 5, 2001. This was the first performance I had the full 14-member ensemble and the last I used a drum set (later I switched to hand percussion to give more subtly to the ensemble, and eventually eschewing drums and non-pitched percussion altogether). The concert featured a number my compositions, with “To Kyoto,” “rothko,” (which were on 1st album two years later) and “The Smoke That Thunders” being ones I had already written; others, like “Madame Press Never Had to Holler at Morty” were new. “Silent Dream” and my first large-scaled composition for Numinous, a suite Remembering Songs of Summer were also performed but I took both out of circulation after this performance. Later I would strip them and modify some of their good ideas for use in other compositions in subsequent years.
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Morton Feldman is one of my composing inspirations. As an undergraduate at University of Maryland, I remember vividly studying a number of his works in 20th century Music Theory, with Thomas DeLio, who wrote a book about Feldman’s work. With Feldman’s work I was astonished at how his music and approach was so distinct and beautiful with compositions and he continues to hold a particularly special place for me.
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Some critics spoke of Rothko’s paintings as ‘decorative’, because his technique focused on color, but that was not Rothko’s aim. Rejecting any semblance of figuration in his paintings, Rothko developed his original approach to painting for emotional clarity; “The elimination of all obstacles between the painter and the idea, and the idea and the observer” was his one of his primary goals. Rothko’s paintings hoped to create in the viewer a transcendental experience that takes one away from any particular time and place, which in those early days, was one of my goals as a composer.
#numinous25
#numinousmusic25
Our second performance was at the Brooklyn Park Slope Festival on May 5, 2001. This was the first performance I had the full 14-member ensemble and the last I used a drum set (later I switched to hand percussion to give more subtly to the ensemble, and eventually eschewing drums and non-pitched percussion altogether). The concert featured a number my compositions, with “To Kyoto,” “rothko,” (which were on 1st album two years later) and “The Smoke That Thunders” being ones I had already written; others, like “Madame Press Never Had to Holler at Morty” were new. “Silent Dream” and my first large-scaled composition for Numinous, a suite Remembering Songs of Summer were also performed but I took both out of circulation after this performance. Later I would strip them and modify some of their good ideas for use in other compositions in subsequent years.
———————--
Morton Feldman is one of my composing inspirations. As an undergraduate at University of Maryland, I remember vividly studying a number of his works in 20th century Music Theory, with Thomas DeLio, who wrote a book about Feldman’s work. With Feldman’s work I was astonished at how his music and approach was so distinct and beautiful with compositions and he continues to hold a particularly special place for me.
——————-
Some critics spoke of Rothko’s paintings as ‘decorative’, because his technique focused on color, but that was not Rothko’s aim. Rejecting any semblance of figuration in his paintings, Rothko developed his original approach to painting for emotional clarity; “The elimination of all obstacles between the painter and the idea, and the idea and the observer” was his one of his primary goals. Rothko’s paintings hoped to create in the viewer a transcendental experience that takes one away from any particular time and place, which in those early days, was one of my goals as a composer.
Thanks and credit to all the original photos on this website to: David Andrako, Concrete Temple Theatre, Marcy Begian, Mark Elzey, Ed Lefkowicz, Donald Martinez, Kimberly McCollum, Geoff Ogle, Joseph C. Phillips Jr., Daniel Wolf-courtesy of Roulette, Andrew Robertson, Viscena Photography, Jennifer Kang, Carolyn Wolf, Mark Elzey, Karen Wise, Numinosito. The Numinous Changing Same album design artwork by DM Stith. The Numinous The Grey Land album design and artwork by Brock Lefferts. Contact for photo credit and information on specific images.