Electric guitar in classical music

[Lethevich]

(Particularly as there is such good — and such a range of good — electric guitar in other idioms, a "classical" composer doesn't get an automatic Pass for incorporating lukewarm electric guitar in an orchestral piece. Make it count, or leave it out.)

This post reminds me about something I have long been searching for - good use of electric guitar in classical music. It's easier in jazz-inspired works, such as those by Turnage, but to go flat-out classical seems to be a difficult or uninteresting task for most composers.

Two successful examples I am aware of are Gavin Bryars' After the Requiem (thanks Luke), which uses the instrument so texturally that it is hard to recognise it. The other is Tüür's Architectonics V, which uses the guitar in an admirably classical context without obscuring it - its tone is standard and even somewhat raw depending on the recording, but it's utilised in a pseudo-minimalistic sporadic crawl, accompanied by a microphoned piano in a context which is far removed from its typical more standard jazz-styled usage.

Any other good (or bad) examples are welcome, as is discussion on whether it is worth trying to incorporate this instrument into classical pieces - are its challenges (not just the complexities of playing it - but its large amount of adjustable sounds available) against the grain of the traditional medium, or perhaps is it easiest to use in post-modernist works (the Tüür is slightly in that manner).

[karlhenning]

I think it works tolerably well as an element in Tippett's New Year Suite.

[some guy]

I feel I need some notice as to what "classical music" refers to, at least when Lethe uses it.

I know that even back when I used to use that term as if it meant something, I would not have called the Rypdal piece "classical."

Musicians have used electric guitar a lot. Some as part of orchestral texture, like Schnittke, some as an addition to the string quartet, some as a solo intrument or in an electronic ensemble with other electric guitars, laptops, turntables, circuitry. The latter is what I know best, but I suspect that Lethe is not looking for this kind of thing:

http://www.youtube.com/v/-VwBMyrIPzE

[Lethevich]

The latter is what I know best, but I suspect that Lethe is not looking for this kind of thing

Indeed not, hehe - I was curious about it in a more "traditional" sense, because I was wondering if it were possible for it to "fit in" to traditional ensembles in the way that previous new instruments like the euphonium or saxophone did - i.e., can it stand on its own merits in a conventional classical ensemble (such as making a quintet alongside woodwinds or strings) in place of another conventional instrument? Or will it perhaps always draw too much attention to itself, and be relegated to a novelty role.

[ibanezmonster]

Electric guitar with eBow would work extremely well in a Saariaho or Ligeti (Lontano or Atmospheres)-type piece.

[Cato]

Penderecki's Utrenja I: The Entombment of Christ uses an electric bass guitar, but if the orchestra dropped the part, I cannot imagine it would make much difference.

0:)

[karlhenning]

Well, there's electric bass in many a score of Louis Andriessen's...

[Mirror Image]

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but the electric guitar was used in John Adams' work Naive and Sentimental Music (one of my all-time favorite Adams works). It was used in the second movement titled Mother of the Man. The electric guitar was used quite tastefully.

[Mirror Image]

Also, how could I forget Reich's Electric Counterpoint? The particular performance I'm thinking about is with Pat Metheny playing to a bunch of pre-recorded tracks.

[Grazioso]

Schnittke's 3rd symphony uses electric guitar (and electric bass), though they don't play central roles:

http://www.youtube.com/v/9RWe35YrM5E

Considering the staggering array of sounds you can draw from an electric guitar, it's a shame it doesn't get more use in classical music.

[karlhenning]

Considering the staggering array of sounds you can draw from an electric guitar, it's a shame it doesn't get more use in classical music.

Or maybe that's why.  When you write a line for oboe, you know what it's going to sound like.  Because an electric guitar can sound so different . . . I think that's the nub.

Having said that, I'd gladly work with Andy to compose a chamber work in which we might fold his awesome guitar : )

[Mn Dave]

I always hear the name Branca thrown around. Haven't heard anything though.

[karlhenning]

His name was thrown around a lot while I was in Buffalo (and the echo of that throwing-around might well have reached Minnesota). Likewise, I cannot answer to it.

[Grazioso]

Or maybe that's why.  When you write a line for oboe, you know what it's going to sound like.  Because an electric guitar can sound so different . . . I think that's the nub.

Quite possibly. I suppose we may have to wait for a musician who's both a classical composer and top-flight electric guitar player, so he can both conceive and play works for it.

[snyprrr]

I always hear the name Branca thrown around. Haven't heard anything though.

Symphonies for 20 electric guitars played with mallets,...uhm, yea,....loud and sucky usually,...YouTube it,...

[not edward]

I think part of the problem in this case is that while it's quite easy to use the electric guitar in a primarily colouristic role (Schnittke being a good example of this--often I think his electric guitar use is actually more effective than his more-commented-upon use of the harpsichord), it's not so easy to make it a major component of the orchestral sound without it sounding forced or out-of-place.

I think this is particularly the case for composers of an older generation who didn't necessarily grow up with the sound of electric guitars around them, and who do not necessarily have the automatic associations with that sound that most listeners do now. Hence it wouldn't surprise me if some of the more effective use of electric guitars in an orchestral context are from younger composers. I know I've heard works by Michael Gordon and Bernhard Lang where the electric guitar writing is distinctive, largely free from cliche and takes advantage of many of the opportunities given by the instrument.

(Having said that, I still want to hear Frank Martin's Poemes de la mort, for three voices and three electric guitars.)

[MDL]

Penderecki's Utrenja I: The Entombment of Christ uses an electric bass guitar, but if the orchestra dropped the part, I cannot imagine it would make much difference.

0:)

Really? I've got three recordings of Utrenja I and have never noticed the guitar. Where does it crop up?

Penderecki makes sparing but effective use of electric bass in The Devils of Loudun.

[escher]

Ascension is a good example of Branca's work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4J-SuktYVs

another musician in a similar vein is Rhys Chatham.

[escher]

Horrible.

I think it has a great intensity, maybe is not a complex work in terms of structure but there's something that reminds me of Ligeti (or even Langaard) and  the instrument is used in an original and intelligent way.

[mikkeljs]

Im currently working on a orchestral piece that includes 2 electric guitares, with 16 solo violins, 8 solo violas, 8 solo celli, 8 solo contrabasses plus an additional string orchestra and woodwinds.