Taking a Line for a Second Walk
Encyclopedia
Taking a Line for a Second Walk is the name of piano duo reduction of a dance work for orchestra
by Michael Nyman
, Basic Black, written in 1986
for the Houston Ballet
. It is eponymous with a 1994 album on Work Music on which it constitutes approximately half the material. The album is also known as Music for Two Pianos, which is given as the album's name on the back cover and insert back, while Taking a Line for a Second Walk appears on the front cover, spine, and physical disc. The performers are identified on the front cover, and all of the booklet, as The Zoo II, and on the back cover as "The Zoo Duet". As one of the tracks on the album is "Lady in the Red Hat" from A Zed & Two Noughts
, also known as Zoo, this is often seen as a reference to that film. A photograph of the duo is inside the booklet, two young women in black on a black background, leaving only their wedding banded-hands (which form the front cover design) and faces visible, with "The Zoo II" as the only caption. The pianists are identified as Helen Hodkinson and Brenda Russell in the Michael Nyman discography on the 1995 promotional compilation Michael Nyman.
The album was reissued with a new cover and the Music for Two Pianos title by Signum Records on April 5, 2004 (May 25, 2004 in the U.S.). The artist is listed as "The Zoo Duet," but neither Hodkinson nor Russell are identified by name. This led some reviewers to assume that the piano was played by Nyman himself, using overdubs to play both parts.
The title work, which is partially influenced by 1950s rock and roll
, takes up the first three tracks of the album (the second and third are identified as "(untitled)" in the reissue cover, and simply left blank in the original). The album also contains an expansion of the Water Dances for Peter Greenaway
's film about synchronized swimming
, Making a Splash, which originally appeared on the album The Kiss and Other Movements
. The albums liner notes mention that this latter work invokes a chord progression from a madrigal
by Claudio Monteverdi
.
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
by Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
, Basic Black, written in 1986
1986 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place...
for the Houston Ballet
Houston Ballet
The Houston Ballet, operated by the Houston Ballet Foundation, is the fourth-largest professional ballet company in the United States, based in Houston, Texas. The foundation also maintains a ballet academy, the Ben Stevenson Academy, which trains more than half of the company's dancers...
. It is eponymous with a 1994 album on Work Music on which it constitutes approximately half the material. The album is also known as Music for Two Pianos, which is given as the album's name on the back cover and insert back, while Taking a Line for a Second Walk appears on the front cover, spine, and physical disc. The performers are identified on the front cover, and all of the booklet, as The Zoo II, and on the back cover as "The Zoo Duet". As one of the tracks on the album is "Lady in the Red Hat" from A Zed & Two Noughts
A Zed & Two Noughts
Elements of Michael Nyman's score invoke the "Dies Irae" section from Heinrich Ignaz Biber's Requiem ex F con terza minore. The Angelfish Decay/Swan Rot/L'Escargot theme was originally written for Childs Play, a dance work commissioned by Lucinda Childs. Performance of the soundtrack is credited...
, also known as Zoo, this is often seen as a reference to that film. A photograph of the duo is inside the booklet, two young women in black on a black background, leaving only their wedding banded-hands (which form the front cover design) and faces visible, with "The Zoo II" as the only caption. The pianists are identified as Helen Hodkinson and Brenda Russell in the Michael Nyman discography on the 1995 promotional compilation Michael Nyman.
The album was reissued with a new cover and the Music for Two Pianos title by Signum Records on April 5, 2004 (May 25, 2004 in the U.S.). The artist is listed as "The Zoo Duet," but neither Hodkinson nor Russell are identified by name. This led some reviewers to assume that the piano was played by Nyman himself, using overdubs to play both parts.
The title work, which is partially influenced by 1950s rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, takes up the first three tracks of the album (the second and third are identified as "(untitled)" in the reissue cover, and simply left blank in the original). The album also contains an expansion of the Water Dances for Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
's film about synchronized swimming
Synchronized swimming
Synchronized swImming is a hybrid form of swimming, dance and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers performing a synchronized routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music....
, Making a Splash, which originally appeared on the album The Kiss and Other Movements
The Kiss and Other Movements
The Kiss and Other Movements is the sixth album release by Michael Nyman, and the fifth recording with the Michael Nyman Band. The title track is an "operatic duet" between Dagmar Krause and Omar Ebrahim, based on a painting of the same title by Paul Richards, which is depicted on the cover, and...
. The albums liner notes mention that this latter work invokes a chord progression from a madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
by Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
.
Track listing
- Taking a line for a second walk
11'52" - 5'46"
- 5'27"
- Lady in the Red Hat
5'23" - Water Dances: I
4'04" - II
5'17" - III
5'50 - IV
5'15" - V
7'33"
Personnel
- performed by The Zoo II (Helen Hodkinson and Brenda Russell), pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
s
- producer: Tony HarrisonTony HarrisonTony Harrison is an English poet and playwright. He is noted for controversial works such as the poem V and Fram, as well as his versions of ancient Greek tragedies, including the Oresteia and Hecuba...
- recording engineer: Mike Hatch, Floating Earth Limited
- executive producer: Richard Hodkinson
- publishers: Chester Music Ltd & Michael Nyman Ltd (Lady in the Red Hat & Taking a Line for a Second Walk)
Michael Nyman Limited (Water Dances)
- photography: Eric Butcher & James Braberson (The Zoo Duet)
Work Music (Michael Nyman) - design: Rob Andrews