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In my first post, I laid out plans (you might even call them my “best laid plans” at the time) to select and refine lyrical content during the second phase of my project. So, naturally, this required me to devote the last few months exclusively to sketching out musical ideas and avoiding lyrical ones at all costs. In the process, however, an overall structure and concept has started to emerge, albeit possibly an overly ambitious one at this point. More refining, limiting, and general paring down will definitely be in order, BUT in the meantime, I’ll attempt to make some sense of the current disparate glut of ideas.
Find the complete progression of the work linked below.
Daniel 4
Artist in Residence 2017: Aaron Beaumont - Part 2
By
Aaron Beaumont
Credits:
Curated by:
Spark & Echo Arts, Artist in Residence
2017
Primary Scripture
Nebuchadnezzar the king,
to all the peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in all the earth:
Peace be multiplied to you.
It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked toward me.
How great are his signs!
How mighty are his wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
His dominion is from generation to generation.
I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.
I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.
But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. I told the dream before him, saying,
“Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no secret troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation.
Thus were the visions of my head on my bed: I saw, and behold, a tree in the middle of the earth; and its height was great.
The tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached to the sky, and its sight to the end of all the earth.
The leaves of it were beautiful, and it had much fruit, and in it was food for all. The animals of the field had shade under it, and the birds of the sky lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.
“I saw in the visions of my head on my bed, and behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from the sky.
He cried aloud, and said thus, ‘Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches! Shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit! Let the animals get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches.
Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of the sky. Let his portion be with the animals in the grass of the earth.
Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let an animal’s heart be given to him. Then let seven times pass over him.
“‘The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets up over it the lowest of men.’
“This dream I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen; and you, Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken mute for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king answered, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream, or the interpretation, trouble you.”
Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation to your adversaries.
The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached to the sky, and its sight to all the earth;
whose leaves were beautiful, and its fruit plentiful, and in it was food for all; under which the animals of the field lived, and on whose branches the birds of the sky had their habitation:
it is you, O king, that have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown, and reaches to the sky, and your dominion to the end of the earth.
“Whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from the sky, and saying, ‘Cut down the tree, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of the sky. Let his portion be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him.
“This is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which has come on my lord the king:
that you shall be driven from men, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be made to eat grass as oxen, and shall be wet with the dew of the sky, and seven times shall pass over you; until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.
Whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; your kingdom shall be sure to you, after that you will have known that the heavens do rule.
Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of your tranquility.”
All this came on the king Nebuchadnezzar.
At the end of twelve months he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon.
The king spoke and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from the sky, saying, “O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: ‘The kingdom has departed from you.
You shall be driven from men; and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be made to eat grass as oxen. Seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.’”
This was fulfilled the same hour on Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from men, and ate grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of the sky, until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.
At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever;
for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
and he does according to his will in the army of heaven,
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and no one can stop his hand,
or ask him, “What are you doing?”
At the same time my understanding returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added to me.
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase.
Daniel 4
Share This Art:
June 19, 2017
In my first post, I laid out plans (you might even call them my “best laid plans” at the time) to select and refine lyrical content during the second phase of my project. So, naturally, this required me to devote the last few months exclusively to sketching out musical ideas and avoiding lyrical ones at all costs. In the process, however, an overall structure and concept has started to emerge, albeit possibly an overly ambitious one at this point. More refining, limiting, and general paring down will definitely be in order, BUT in the meantime, I’ll attempt to make some sense of the current disparate glut of ideas.
I keep coming back to the idea of the oblivion – or even serenity – of Nebuchadnezzar’s “punishment” for hubris. It doesn’t actually sound all that bad to spend seven years unselfconsciously communing with animals. Is it better to know, or is self consciousness a burden? Is an omniscient God therefore infinitely miserable? You could even see how Nebuchadnezzar’s chastening brings him relief: from having to know, from being a god among humans. The unknowability of mental states other than our own (and maybe even including our own) is endlessly fascinating, as is the variability of one’s own mental state and identity. Accordingly, I’ve been sketching out a sonic psychological journey somewhat inspired by Nebuchadnezzar, as he moves from a sort of “innocence” – the naivete of solipsism – into experience: an awareness of not only the ‘self’ but also of the ‘other,’ of the infringement and imposition of something greater, of something different from his own absolute sovereignty and will.
The way I’m hoping all this will play out is in a series of short movements or a musical collage representing a state of flux, like psychological weather or a sort of mental channel surfing. The changes could be jarring or synchronous. I’m hoping to include some choral and instrumental interludes, and may also cut between brief excerpts from several of my own “orphan” unrecorded songs to represent the manic channel-changing transitions between movements. I like this idea of “sampling” myself – my older unrecorded work – as a representation of memory or identity itself, the illusion that we’re ever a fixed point or something other than dynamic. These previous works therefore function like memories or artifacts of a different self in a different psychological state.
I’ve included four rough instrumental sketches, and a few pieces of sheet music. Here’s my current sort of Rorschach interpretation of them:
Sample 1: oblivion, indeterminacy, movement, disorientation, flux, introspection
Sample 2: oblivion, haze, holy nature, pastoral, serene, picturesque, transitioning
Sample 3: dreamy, free, easy, floating, here (also the clear sonic outlier here – work in progress!)
Sample 4: reconciliation, emergence, revelation, daylight, resolution, experience, settling, stasis
All music written, performed, and produced by Aaron Beaumont. 2017.
VIEW: SHEET MUSIC FOR VOCAL INTERLUDE SKETCH 1
VIEW: SHEET MUSIC FOR ORCHESTRAL SKETCH 1
The challenges moving forward will be selecting lyrics that support the musical ideas, refining the music, and weaving the discrete movements into a seamless work. I’m also hoping to work with a few instrumentalists and vocalists – at this point I *plan* to incorporate violin, harp, bass, and horns. And, as exemplified by Nebuchadnezzar’s impromptu foray into the animal kingdom, if one thing is reliable, it is the best laid plans of mice and men!
Spark Notes
The Artist's Reflection
Aaron Beaumont has toured the U.S. and Europe as a pianist and songwriter and been invited to share his work in wide-ranging venues from the Sziget Festival in Budapest to KCRW Santa Monica to the Tribeca Film Festival to off-Broadway Theatre 80 in the East Village to the main stage of the West Hollywood Carnaval. L.A. Weekly wrote that Aaron's music brings "a new life to the ancient music-hall/pop piano-man tradition, with clear-headed songs of genuinely witty lyrical oomph and, most of all, a historically informed musical depth – all delivered with style, grace, wit and elan, of course."
Aaron wrote one song, arranged two others, and served as a piano performance coach for the feature Permission (Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Jason Sudeikis, 2017 Tribeca Film Festival), which premieres worldwide February 2018. He also contributed two songs to the forthcoming series Dan is Dead (Drake Bell, Maker Studios) and two songs to the indie feature film Alex & Jaime (2017 Roxbury International Film Festival). Aaron contributed an original co-write (“17”) and several arrangements to Gil McKinney’s 2017 debut album, How Was I to Know, which reached #1 on the iTunes jazz chart and #8 on the Billboard jazz chart. He also co-wrote “Good Love” for Briana Buckmaster’s 2018 debut album (#1 iTunes blues, #3 Billboard blues). Other recent TV and film placements include original songs written for Cedar Cove (Andie McDowell) and Where Hope Grows (Billy Zabka, Danica McKellar; Dallas Film Festival, Roadside Attractions). Aaron has composed original scores for films and theatrical productions, including All the Lovely Wayside Things; Tall, Dark, and Handsome; Heart; Until We Have Faces; Shrew; The Fire Room; the Breakfast Show with Adam O; Companion; and Beyond Imagination, winning best score and sound design at the Hollywood Fringe Festival for his work on Fugitive Kind’s production of The Fire Room by Ovation Award-winning playwright Meghan Brown. In 2016, Aaron wrote a commissioned work for the Spark & Echo Arts project, and in 2017 Aaron created a larger scale work as an Artist in Residence. Aaron also works as an in-house arranger, producer, composer, and mix engineer for the Gregory Brothers / Schmoyoho, whose original music has earned them a gold and platinum record and nearly one billion views on YouTube, along with myriad collaborations on other platforms. Recent Gregory Brothers collabs include the Justice League film (ft. Gary Clark Jr.), Weird Al Yankovic, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bassnectar, Alex Wassabi, LaurDIY, Markiplier, Slow Mo Guys, Todrick Hall, J. Fla, The Resident (Fox Network), and the International Olympic Channel. Songs Aaron has worked on with the Gregory Brothers have received over 175 million plays on YouTube.
In 2015, Aaron participated in the Ultraviolet Music and Arts Festival in Los Angeles as a featured artist and presenter, and performed with his band The Mots Nouveaux for the 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 Rockwood Music Festival in Frankfurt, Germany.
Aaron wrote the music and lyrics to the original musical, Behind Closed Doors, which sold out every performance at the historic Hayworth Theater, received multiple Broadway World L.A. Award nominations, and played for thousands of festival goers on the main stage of the West Hollywood Carnaval. Behind Closed Doors was selected to participate in the New York International Fringe Festival as a national show, enjoying a mostly oversold run at off-Broadway Theatre 80 in the East Village. Aaron was selected as a finalist as a composer and lyricist for the Fred Ebb Foundation / Roundabout Theatre Company Fred Ebb Award for musical theater songwriters, and received the Hal Gaba Scholarship for Excellence in Lyrics from UCLA/Concord Records.
Aaron is currently developing new musicals with playwrights Meghan Brown, Andrew Crabtree, Peter Berube, and Cassandra Christensen, and a one-woman show with soprano Lorelei Zarifian. Lorelei and Aaron’s first musical triptych, Midtown Antoinette, was featured on NPR-affiliate WFIT in March 2016 and debuted as part of the Florida Tech / Foosaner Museum French Film Festival. Aaron also occasionally helps produce the outrageous bingo raves phenomenon, Rebel Bingo, in New York and Los Angeles, as featured in the L.A. Times, Guardian, and BBC, and recently played a run of five capacity shows in the downtown L.A.’s Globe Theatre as part of 2016 Night on Broadway.
Aaron has collaborated as pianist, musical director, and/or co-writer with a panoply of music buddies, including Jason Manns, Gil McKinney, Sara Niemietz, Tim Omundsen, Dave Yaden, Nicholas Zork, Aaron Roche, Nick Bearden, Emma Fitzpatrick, Amanda Wallace, Shane Alexander, Ben Jaffe, Brett Young, Courtney Bassett, Eden Malyn, Luis Selgas, Aly French, Sam Heldt, Karma Jenkins, Emily Iaquinta, Lynette Williams, Meshach Jackson, Roy Mitchell-Cardenas, Kamasi Washington, Chad Doreck, J.T. Spangler, and Katrina Parker. He claimed several distinctions as a young classical pianist, including two-time Wisconsin Academy Musician of the Year, Andrews University Concerto Competition Finalist, and the British Royal Conservatory of Music Award of Highest Distinction for Piano Performance at the Newbold Creative Arts Festival. He currently serves as co-chair of the Carnegie Hill Concert Series in New York, featuring leading interpreters of classical and New Music from around the globe.
In 2015, Aaron founded SongLab, an online songwriting community for emerging songwriters. The inaugural SongLab Series welcomed GRAMMY-winner Dave Yaden as special guest.
In addition to working with other artists, Aaron performs as one-third of the pop trio, The Mots Nouveaux, alongside vocalists Emma Fitzpatrick and Amanda Wallace. The band celebrated their latest album release with a residency at Hotel Café, a six-month residency at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, and residencies at Rockwood Music Hall and Sidewalk Café in New York. They were invited to join the lineup for the Broke L.A. Music Festival in downtown Los Angeles, where Lyynks music hailed their set as the “greatest revelation” of the festival, one that “really thrilled the crowd” of thousands at the Lounge Stage (GroundSounds.com). The Mots Nouveaux recorded a new EP in Spring 2017 with co-producer Peter Barbee / Among Savages, with forthcoming tracks slated for 2018 release.
Aaron released his debut solo project, Nothing's Forever (Not Even Goodbye), featuring the first ten songs he wrote, on Milan Records (Warner-Ryko) in 2008.
In his spare time, Aaron enjoys playing the piano, traveling, eating, writing songs, making coffee, drinking coffee, collecting records, going for brisk walks, being near coffee, and composing extensive autobiographical sketches in the third person.
Aaron Beaumont
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