Life and Career of Bill Fontana - Essay Example

Introduction The world of music has never witnessed a parallel like Bill Fontana, especially when it comes to composing world musical tracks. Whenever we talk of a skilled musician, we take into consideration his/her composition, his/her natural skill set, his/her devotion towards the vocation and the ability to showcase his/her presentation in the best possible manner. Bill Fontana can well be considered a phenomenal 20th century classical composer, who had the ability to captivate his audience by composing tunes which were in sync with the persona of all who cared to attend his concert. Bill Fontana was born in the year 1947 and while his birthplace was in Cleveland Ohio, his music is known internationally for its pioneering effort to showcase symphony as a form of art. The avid composer attended the New York New School for Social Research, wherein he mastered philosophy besides studying various forms of music including classical music. Known to have traveled the world while studying music, Bill Fontana is said to have imbibed various cultures, with special regards to countries such as Japan, Germany and Australia, and applied his learning into various melodious musical compositions. Bill Fontana's musical input began in the year 1976 with the advent of sound scriptures. The career, which spanned over thirty years, witnessed Bill Fontana's composition revolving around the urban environment. His musical sources were inspired by the natural surroundings and had the ability to transform a simple tune into a fairy tale image. It could be compared, analyzed and comprehended before being interpreted by the listeners in their own imaginative ways. The effective use of sound scriptures by Bill has been known to move mountains when it comes to assessing musical works. The skilled composer has staged his performances in reputed events such as the Venice Biennale in the year 1999, the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1991, the Museo Reina Sofia, Spain in 1995, Madison Square Park, New York and the Tate Modern, the United Kingdom in the year 2006. The artist is also known the world over for his mesmerizing compositions such as the Distant Trains, Satellite Ear Bridge Cologne-San Francisco, The Sound of an Unblown Flute Panoramic Echoes and Journey Through My Sound Scriptures. (Tux Deluxe, 2007) The Concept Of Bill Fontana Vs John Cage / Luigi Russolo Bill Fontana's is known to be a sound architect with a difference. He is also stated to have used objects such as belly jars and brewery bottles to study the frequency of sound through the study of echo and acoustical properties of the related objects. The transformation of an ambient sound into a musical phrase was executed to perfection in Fontana's 'Sound Sculptures'. This reflection of sound is often referred to as lending an 'ear to the world.' To draw the attention away from visual contemplation of a materialistic object, Fontana placed a microphone in the cavity of a resonate object and allowed the sound vibrations to a group of well placed speakers on the ground below. When compared to the concepts of modern composer John Cage, who did not believe in making use of the sounds of whistles and machine vibrations, the sounds generated by Fontana were based on objects which emitted noise. Fontana's concept was lauded by composer Luigi Russolo, who went a step further and added a new dimension to the music of sound by including shaking of doors, thumping valves, throbbing engine motors and thudding pistons in his futurist manifesto, The Art Of Noise. Later even John Cage admitted to the fact that these noises could be made 'extra musical' through the means of various unconventional devices. John Cage, on the other hand, believed in the power of silence. This avant-grade composer was supposedly the inventor of silence and in the year 1952, he composed his most famous piece ever, entitled 4'33". The composition involved a complete silence for 4 minutes and 33 seconds wherein apart from the background hum from the audience and the occasional coughs from the musicians, there was no background music and a complete lack of orchestra. This, according to John Cage, was the closest a musician can get while trying to showcase his personalized music to the entire world. (ABC-Clio Information Services, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Inc Internet Database Service, 1998) (LaBelle, 2006) The Medium Of Bill Fontana And John Cage/Luigi Rossolo The medium of Bill Fontana was far beyond the contemporary musical instruments and consisted of numerous non-instrumental objects such as an empty glass bottle, a train's whistle, the slamming of a door, the shuffling of feet and the thumping sound of pistons. The medium of expression in Bill Fontana's music was undoubtedly the importance of sound, which in turn was showcased to perfection through the means of non conventional musical objects as mentioned above. The regular guitars, drums, synthesizers and flutes were avoided or used in its bare minimum forms, while the sounds of nature, aided to perfection through the means of an amplifier and a few well placed speakers, signified the importance of the listening skills when compared to the visible skill set. (Higgins, 1997) (Tate Britain, 2008) John Cage was not at all inclined to include industrial sounds in his compositions and although he appreciated Bill Fontana's work, stating it to be a unique work of art, the fact still remains that he preferred silence to sound. His medium of expressing music was complete silence. This allowed the audience to express their shock at the sudden turn of events in terms of their own visible expressions and inaudible whispers. Luigi Rossolo on the other hand, was always a staunch supporter of Bill's style and used numerous similar techniques. The only difference was the volume of noise. Like it or not, it was much louder and brash in comparison to Bill's soft and melodious composition. (Higgins, 1997) (ABC-Clio Information Services, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Inc Internet Database Service, 1998) The Technique Of Bill Fontana Vs John Cage / Luigi Rossolo John Cage was of the belief that the real essence of music was silence and hence he often composed tracks which were aided to perfection by abrupt stoppages. These silent moments, which at times exceeded four minutes, were a grim reminder of the fact that the best way to enjoy music was to hear and observe natural sounds. Bill Fontana was never really fond of silence but had a creative edge which helped transform the contemporary compositions into works of art that were inspired and derived from natural objects. Luigi Rossolo was an experimental musician and an avid composer. He applied the divisionist techniques to showcase his music as a symbolic representation of the industrial art. Considered a pioneer in electronic music, Russolo was considered a 'loud musician', who invented intoners and other noise machines to redefine the meaning of 'a classic modernist.' (Higgins, 1997) Conclusion: Bill Fontana, through the means of his innovative style, concepts, themes and technology, has managed to revolutionize the overall concept of composing a seemingly listless musical track into a melodious outcome. He has also successfully inspired numerous well known music composers to enhance their creative potential through the means of an innovative set up. Bill's proposal to the Climate Clock Proposal, in collaboration with the world renowned architects Raniere and Kuth, is proof enough to showcase the composer's intellectual bent towards the augmentation of the green revolution. An ideal location for contemplation and repose, the San Jose Climate Clock, would be linked to twelve distinct ecological habitats spread across the entire globe. The proposed clock would not only transmit live sounds pertaining to the environmental benefits but would also display critical environmental data such as the planet's carbon dioxide levels, the change in temperature and the fluctuating levels of the ozone layer. The recording and direction of the Bill Fontana theme would prove beneficial in the longer run and would also act as a medium of showcasing the overall potential of a musical theme in enhancing and improving the degrading environmental status. It has also been maintained that the live audio of the proposed themes by Bill Fontana, would be showcased to the entire world through the medium of the so called 'latest learning technologies'. (Department of Design, Media Arts, 2006) Read More