John Luther Adams - Drums of Fire, Drums of Stone

John Luther Adams (*1947), as does Rothenberg, works with nature as his central theme and center of composing. His works are described as journeys and often related to his location in Alaska, which he is a resident of. 

What is important for Adams's work is the direct connection to the real world, his aim is not to create abstract art but rather to capture the forces of nature into music. This is also a difference to Rothenberg, also their main theme is nature, Rothenberg is much more focused on the animal world, so the fauna of nature, while Adams’ pieces focus on phenomena of nature. Features of Adams' work are transforming natural movement and change (e.g. sunrise and sundown) into music and creating awareness of the idea that the whole world is composed of sound and music. Adams also works with the concept of transcendence but not in a religious way but rather as transcendence from deep within the earth.

Drums of Fire, Drums of Stone is part of Earth and the Great Weather - A Sonic Geography of the Arctic and as the title implies a music piece that uses drums as the central and dominant music instrument.

The piece starts off rather quiet but already with power. The beginning sounds reminded me of either thunder or stone falling and being mined in a quarry, which would suit the title “Drum of Stone”. 

After the beginning/introduction of the piece, the drums start and Adam’s piece immediately becomes energetic and powerful but without the feeling of heaviness. The rhythm is quiet leading and without irregularities which is “unusual” in comparison to other American-Avangard pieces, we have dealt with during this course. 

The drums as the dominant part of Adam’s piece arose a variety of associations while listening. On the one hand, I found them to be very motivational and strong, moreover, I enjoyed listening to the piece and it did brighten up my mood. On the other hand, the sounds of drums and the rhythm reminded me of something traditional almost indigenous and I had to think of ancient tribes. In this relation, the idea of Drums of Fire, Drums of Stone being an ancient war or ritual song also came to mind. 

In the end, the pace of the drums pick up, which felt like the repetition of drum rolls while listening, these drum rolls triggered a little feeling of anxiousness for me as a listener. 

The piece ends with spoken lyrics. Also, the lyrics are rather quiet and therefore one needs to listen carefully to understand, they repeat and emphasize the theme of movement and change in nature that was previously transported by the music. The female voice talks about the great sea and how it moves her and how the forces of nature move her inward part with joy, which for me personally serves as a conclusion of the music Adam created with the piece Drums of Fire, Drums of Stone.