''Phantasmata'' is an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The title is derived from the works of the

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

ist

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...

, who described phantasmata as "hallucinations created by thought." Rouse, Christopher
Phantasmata: Program Note by the Composer
1986. Retrieved March 9, 2015. Rouse originally composed the second movement "The Infernal Machine" as a stand-alone piece in 1981, though he later elected to make it the second part of a larger work. ''Phantasmata'' was commissioned in full by the

St. Louis Symphony The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest professional symphony o ...

and a fellowship grant from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

and completed March 22, 1985.

Composition

"The Evestrum of Juan de la Cruz in the Sagrada Familia, 3 A.M."

The first movement, "The Evestrum of Juan de la Cruz in the Sagrada Familia, 3 A.M.," is scored for only strings and percussion. The piece is dedicated to composer

Joseph Schwantner Joseph Clyde Schwantner (born March 22, 1943) is an American composer, educator and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 2002. He was awarded the 1970 Charles Ives Prize. Schwantner is prolific, with many works to his cred ...

. The title derives from another Paracelsus term "evestrum," which refers to the

incorporeal Incorporeality is "the state or quality of being incorporeal or bodiless; immateriality; incorporealism." Incorporeal () means "Not composed of matter; having no material existence." Incorporeality is a quality of souls, spirits, and God in man ...

body; thus, the title eludes to a dreamt

out-of-body experience An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world as if from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally "seeing self"), although this term is more common ...

Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet ( , ; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalans, Catalan architect and designer from Spain, widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan ''Modernisme''. Gaudí's works have a style, with most located in Barc ...

's Cathedral of the

Sagrada Família The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, otherwise known as Sagrada Família, is a church under construction in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Desi ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

"The Infernal Machine"

"The Infernal Machine" was composed for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Symphony Orchestra and completed March on 21, 1981. It premiered May 9, 1981 at the Evian Festival in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, with

Gustav Meier Gustav Meier (13 August 1929 – 26 May 2016) was a Swiss-born conductor and director of the Orchestra Conducting Program at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He was also Music Director of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orche ...

leading the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra. Rouse dedicated the work to his friend and fellow composer Leslie Bassett, who was also a professor at the University of Michigan. Rouse, Christopher
The Infernal Machine: Program Note by the Composer
1981. Retrieved March 9, 2015. Though "The Infernal Machine" was originally intended as a stand-alone piece, Rouse later decided to make it a second movement in an orchestral triptych at the suggestion of Joseph Schwantner; thus, it was the first completed movement of ''Phantasmata''. The piece derives its title from the eponymous play by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

, though the actual narrative did not influence Rouse's composition. Daniel Cariaga of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called the work "a perpetual-motion construct clearly designed to warm up both players and listeners through an illusion of frenzy."

"Bump"

"Bump" was completed January 22, 1985 and is dedicated to longtime St. Louis Symphony conductor

Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer. Early life and education Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...

. Rouse, Christopher
Bump: Program Note by the Composer
1985. Retrieved March 9, 2015. Rouse originally conceived the piece as "''

La Valse ''La valse'', ''poème chorégraphique pour orchestre'' (a choreographic poem for orchestra), is a work written by Maurice Ravel between February 1919 and 1920; it was first performed on 12 December 1920 in Paris. It was conceived as a ballet bu ...

'' meets

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

," but it ultimately fashioned what he called a "nightmare konga." The work blends

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

brass writing and jazz syncopations with dissonant elements of

atonalism Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on a ...

. Rouse also described the piece as a "

Boston Pops The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orc ...

tour performance in Hell."

References

{{Authority control Compositions by Christopher Rouse 1981 compositions 1985 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra 20th-century classical music University of Michigan Music commissioned by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra