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Title of this Song

from McGill Beck Project by mcgillbeckproject

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Notes from producers Maximillion Scebba and Victor de Coninck:

It was the way we heard the harmonies and melody early on, and the inspiration, as well as ease to arrange Title of This Song for a Baroque ensemble that pushed us towards making it an instrumental piece. We heard the vocal line as rich, independent and full of hooks—it spoke for itself without words. Its more abstract musical elements, like harmony, melody, and rhythm, were pleasing in their own right, so the song’s appeal was by no means exclusively reliant on its text. In other words, had the primary melody been less delightfully catchy, and had it worked less ideally with its harmony, we probably would not have considered omitting the lyrics. The original has thick, fully-voiced chords in lower registers, which we knew could be occasionally embellished with extensions, and would also lend well to a multi-voice setting. What that setting would be was narrowed to two options, and we in fact only ever considered these two.

Now, I would like to point out that from the outset we were not opposed to using vocals. Victor and I had actually entertained the idea of arranging Title of This Song for a barber shop quartet for some time until finally realizing the neo-Baroque style just made more sense for our interests and experiences. Vocals as a result just did not feel right in that rendition, and indeed proved to be a nonessential element of the song’s appeal on account of the richness of melody and harmony, especially when realized so spectacularly in an exclusively instrumental setting. Given the milieu of the Beck Project, locating skilled musicians for our quasi-Baroque arrangement was hardly an issue, and indeed we were privileged to work with immensely talented players.

If we may be candid, we also thought of our decision as a bit of ‘musical joke,’ as the singer disparages the song of his ex-lover throughout the piece. Their love, it seems, was marred by unsatisfactory communication and misunderstanding, albeit delivered through musical metaphor. We took this supposition a step further by realizing that lack of communication in a more literal sense by excising the most readily interpretable form of communication in the song: its lyrics. Therein lies the joke, and we hope you enjoy!

credits

from McGill Beck Project, released November 5, 2013
Composer: Beck Hansen
Producers: Maximillion Scebba and Victor de Coninck
Arranger: Victor de Coninck
Engineers: Charles-Etienne Doucet and Samuel Bennett

English Horns: Emily Burt, Lindsey Galego
Violins: Baptiste Rodrigues, Geneviève Salamone
Violas: Julie Michael, Victor de Coninck
Cello: Thomas Beard
Double Bass: Ian Bowen
Harpsichord: Maximillion Scebba

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mcgillbeckproject Montreal, Québec

Having released 12 albums, Beck Hansen took a new approach to his newly released album Song Reader and all the songs were released in sheet music so that musicians may create their own interpretation of all the songs. The Beck Project creates an environment in which students can collaborate and share your musical through innovative and creative means. ... more

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