Redline Tango

More concert music: this is a piece that's part tango, part Tool (yes, really), and part just plain fun. Redline Tango is by John Mackey, and this performance by one of my university ensembles is the result of his visit and our rehearsal collaboration this past year. Enjoy! [more inside]

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posted by LooseFilter (3 comments total)

This is how the composer describes the piece:

Redline Tango takes its title from two sources. The first is the common term of "redlining an engine," or, pushing it to the limit. In the case of this score, "redline" also refers to the "red line," or the IRT subway line (2 & 3 trains) of the New York subway system, which is the train that goes between my apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and BAM, where this work was premiered.


The work is in three sections. The first section is the initial virtuosic "redlining" section, with constantly-driving 16th-notes and a gradual increase in intensity. After the peak comes the second section, the "tango," which is rather light but demented, and even a bit sleazy. The material for the tango is derived directly from the first section of the work. A transition leads us back to an even "redder" version of the first section, with one final pop at the end.

John's website has a ton of recordings, scores to his pieces, etc., and can be found here. As before, I'd love to know what you think!
posted by LooseFilter at 10:52 AM on July 20, 2006

[WARNING: As of now, the audio file is playing back incorrectly--it's too slow! Trying to get fixed....]
posted by LooseFilter at 10:57 AM on July 20, 2006

Very dramatic! The main "redlining" theme for some reason reminded me of the X-Men theme. While listening to it, I kept imagining this really violent dance that involved swords and severed heads. But, then again, I've been known to imagine stranger things with less provocation.
posted by epimorph at 1:24 PM on July 20, 2006