The opera Nixon in China by John Adams is an example of classical opera adapted to the present. From the beginning of the composer’s path, he demonstrates the idea of simplicity in his works, finding the roots of his style in minimalism and being faithful to them. Dunpin states that “a key feature of the minimalist compositional technique is the musical material presented within the framework of patterns, which resemble a period” (2). The opera “Nixon in China” demonstrates the thirty-seventh US president Richard Nixon’s trip to China in 1972. This musical work consists of three acts, and each of them contains scenes. The first act has three scenes, the second one has two scenes, and the last act is just one scene. The end of the story does not imply the culmination and big amount of people as expected.
The composer uses different oratorio and ballet musical details, as well as elements of baroque opera. It also references composers like Wagner and Stravinsky and jazz elements. One of the main features of the vocal parts is the focus on melodic declamation. The parts of the characters have an angular melodic line, the repetition of individual sounds. In the third act, their parts become more complicated, which indicates a consistent deepening of the vocal characteristics. From the introduction, the melodic movement is made in the A minor scale, using sustained tonic organ points. Dunpin (2022) states that “a common feature of all patterns is the ostinato movement, which ensures the continuity of perception” (p. 6). There will be several models of patterns further, each of which has its own melodic and rhythmic organization.
On the Transmigration of Souls by Adams was written in memory of the eleventh September 2001 tragedy. Its recording received three Grammy Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. In an interview, Adams said that “he realized that the public did not need any more images or tasteless dramatization in music and text” (Huizenga, 2011). That is why he chose the opposite direction and focused on the grief and loss of their families and friends. He used words from posters by close ones mourning them instead of poets. This work consists of three parts that are all fused. The first part starts with taped sounds and human voices repeating the names of those who died, the word “missing,” and other phrases connected to victims. It ends with a massive and angry orchestral crescendo. The composer also uses crescendo in the second part when family members remember those who died. This moment is the loudest and the longest that Adams ever created. The musical critic John Shinners, in his review, tries to understand if “the listener is moved by the music or by the recollection of the event it commemorates?”. The ending is the beginning in reverse because the voices slowly begin to appear, then the sounds start until everything fades.
The music of Adams is often described as post-minimalist or minimalist. Even though he uses many minimalist techniques in his music, he is not following the movement precisely by using different elements of other eras and styles. In my opinion, his music is more complex and radical than his forebears, at the same time simple and conservative. When I listen to his music, I experience that his musical creations are deliberate and profound, with his own style that can be easily traced when listening to it.
To conclude, John Coolidge Adams has been one of the most prominent figures in American orchestral music for many years. He is a multifaceted composer with many different genres in his arsenal. He uses different instruments and orchestra line-ups to convey his ideas, from electronic compositions to chamber and orchestral music or operas. His contribution to American classical music cannot ever be overestimated.
Works Cited
Dunpin, Van. “Minimalism and Postmodernism in John Adams’ Nixon in China.” International Music Journal, no. 2, 2022, pp. 1-10. doi:10.7256/2453-613X.2022.2.37705.
Huizenga, Tom. “John Adams’ Memory Space: On the Transmigration of Souls.”NPR, 2011.
Shinners, John. “John Adams: On the Transmigration of Souls Review.”Enjoy the Music.