queercomposerkarlsson

[queercomposerkarlsson]

Here is how i first learned about Julius Eastman

Julius Eastman was an influential American composer during the second half of the 20th century. His music can be seen as an evolution of minimalism, still with the repetitive motions, but with a rough edge and an organic way of thinking. He also had cetain success as a singer and pianist, and he often participated in performing his own music.

One would think that he should be more well known today, but the way he expressed his homosexuality and black identity seems to be too radical for his time. With titles such as Evil N***er, Dirty N***er and N***er Fa***t, he recieved critique. He was simply too radical for the musical establishment, and his life ended with substance addiction and homelessness.

Eastman's music has mainly survived through those that worked with him, and people today have started to see the value of his music. As a composer, you often express your own identity and the time you live in. American society in the 70s and 80s was not very kind to someone as expressive as Eastman, but I hope that it would have gone better for him today.

[queercomposerkarlsson]

Julius Eastman was an influential American composer during the second half of the 20th century. His music can be seen as an evolution of minimalism, still with the repetitive motions, but with a rough edge and an organic way of thinking. He also had cetain success as a singer and pianist, and he often participated in performing his own music.

One would think that he should be more well known today, but the way he expressed his homosexuality and black identity seems to be too radical for his time. With titles such as Evil N***er, Dirty N***er and N***er Fa***t, he recieved critique. He was simply too radical for the musical establishment, and his life ended with substance addiction and homelessness.

Eastman's music has mainly survived through those that worked with him, and people today have started to see the value of his music. As a composer, you often express your own identity and the time you live in. American society in the 70s and 80s was not very kind to someone as expressive as Eastman, but I hope that it would have gone better for him today.

[queercomposerkarlsson]

Here is a nice little video about them

Benjamin Britten (left) and Peter Pears (right)

Britten was one of the greatest UK composers of the 20-th century. He is known for his orchestral works and operas, and many of his works were performed by the tenor Pears.

They had many professional collaborations, but they did also live together. They had a secret romance that lasted for 40 years, and much of it took place before homosexuality was decriminalized in 1967. They kept their relasionship private up until Britten's passing. after that, Pears opened up about it and confirmed what many may have suspected.

Several of Britten's compositions have love between men as a theme, one of them being the opera Billy Budd with an entirely male cast. A more intimate composition is his setting of some of Michelangelo's sonnets whith a gay undertone. It was of course performed by his beloved Pears, with Britten himself at the piano.

[queercomposerkarlsson]

Benjamin Britten (left) and Peter Pears (right)

Britten was one of the greatest UK composers of the 20-th century. He is known for his orchestral works and operas, and many of his works were performed by the tenor Pears.

They had many professional collaborations, but they did also live together. They had a secret romance that lasted for 40 years, and much of it took place before homosexuality was decriminalized in 1967. They kept their relasionship private up until Britten's passing. after that, Pears opened up about it and confirmed what many may have suspected.

Several of Britten's compositions have love between men as a theme, one of them being the opera Billy Budd with an entirely male cast. A more intimate composition is his setting of some of Michelangelo's sonnets whith a gay undertone. It was of course performed by his beloved Pears, with Britten himself at the piano.

[queercomposerkarlsson]

Pride month is here, and I would like to talk about a few composers that are worth celebrating.

The melodies of Pyotr Tchaikovsky have been heard by most. Even during his life was he successfull, but he suffered a lot as well. He was homosexual, and one can assume that he had relations and affairs with several men, mostly in sectret. Despite it all he married a woman, but it didn't last more than two weeks before he left.

The music on the image comes from his sixth symphony. Most of the melodies are cheerful, but after an especially pompous ending comes the sorrowful last movement with the melody at the bottom of the image, divided between the two violin parts. This is sometimes interpreted as a final goodbye, because soon after the premiere of the symphony, Tchaikovsky died from cholera.

[queercomposerkarlsson]

[queercomposerkarlsson]

Stunning!

[queercomposerkarlsson]

I take this as a challenge

im the most efficient musician in the world cuz i play all the notes at once

[queercomposerkarlsson]

Why play one instrument when you can play many

i've heard headcanons of king training with raine to do bard magic with his "weh," and i love that, but i would also like to propose: luz training with raine to play musical instruments — which stringbean shapeshifts into, of course, because luz doesn't have innate magic, but palismen being incorporated into bard instruments is canon. and the shapeshifting is also extremely convenient, because luz is obviously incapable of choosing just one instrument

[queercomposerkarlsson]

The last little bit, about the artist donating money to an Inuit cause, is really what marks the difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation. They are not just selling Inuit inspired art, but also actively supporting Inuit art.

Amazing fanart by Joanacchi! Posted here on tumblr with their blessing. Each one is based on a style that reflects a particular ancient culture's art history. (See below for descriptions provided by the artist!)

Store (buy these prints!) Twitter Instagram

Aang: Tibetan Thangka

"Thangkas are traditional Tibetan tapestries that have been used for religious and educational purposes since ancient times! The techniques applied can vary greatly, but they usually use silk or cotton fabrics to paint or embroider on. What you can depict in a Thangka is really versatile, and I wanted to represent things that make up Aang as a character."

Zuko and Azula: Japanese Ukiyo-e

"Ukiyo-e is a style that has been around Japan between the 17th and 19th century, and focused mainly in representing daily life, theater(kabuki), natural landscapes, and sometimes historical characters or legends!

Ukiyo-e was developed to be more of a fast and commercial type of art, so many drawings we see are actually woodblock prints, so the artist could do many copies of the same art!

I based my Zuko and Azula pieces on the work of Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) one of the last ukiyo-e masters in Japan! He has a specific piece which featured a fire demon fighting a lord that fought back with lighting, and that really matched Zuko and Azula's main techniques!”

Toph: Chinese Portraiture from Ming and Qing Dynasties

"Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was one of the longest in China! It was also a period where lots of artistic evolutions were happening, especially when it comes to use of colour! There was not a predilection for portraits during this time, but there are a lot of pieces depicting idealized women and goddesses from the standards of the time. For this portrait of Toph, I imagined something that maybe their parents commissioned, depicting a soft and delicate Toph which we know is not what she is about ♥️

Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) was the last Chinese Dynasty to reign before the Revolution. One of the most famous emperors of this period was Qianlong, and he really liked Western art! He commissioned a lot of portraits of his subordinates, and I chose a portrait of one of his bodyguards as a reference for the second Toph portrait, which I believe is much more like how she would want to be represented! The poem on top talks about the bodyguards' achievements during a specific war. I had no time to come up with a poem for Toph, so I just used the same one for the composition!”

Sokka and Katara: Inuit Lithograph

"For a long time, Inuit art expressed itself in utilitarian ways. The Nomadic lifestyle of early Inuit tribes played a huge part in that: most art pieces are carved in useful tools, clothing, or children's toys, small and easy to be transported, and depicted scenes and patterns representing their daily lives!

That changed a lot during the colonization. Since the settling of the Inuit tribes, many art pieces began to be created in order to be exported to foreigns, so they started to sculpt bigger and more decorative pieces.

Lithography, which is a type of printmaking, was introduced to Inuit people by James Houston, that learned the technique from the japanese. The art form was quickly embraced by the inuit, as part of the process is very similar to carving. Prints that are produced by inuit artists are still being sold today!

As lithography is not an old art style and it's still commercially relevant to the Inuit communities, since creating these in 2021 I have been donating regularly to the Inuit Art Foundation, not only all the money I get from selling some prints of these but a bit more, at least once a year. Hopefully, I can increase donations this year!”

[queercomposerkarlsson]

Full drawing of Enoch. This is my first time drawing a pose without reference.

[queercomposerkarlsson]

what instrument each character of the owl house would play if they were (classical) musicians

To start off well, I'm not sure what Luz would play... maybe she would be a percussionist, honestly that's what makes the most sense to me

I think Amity would be forced by her mother to play the violin from a young age, but she would not enjoy it at all and would switch to oboe when she was older and be much happier

Willow would definitely play the flute (or maybe the french horn)

Gus would probably be a clarinetist

Hunter would play the saxophone

King would play the trumpet (it matches his personality 😭)

Vee would also play the trumpet (don't ask why)

many of these were based on the overall vibes of the character and the instrument

[queercomposerkarlsson]

New video!

In this suite for trombone and orchestra, I present to you the story of the angel Metatron of ancient Jewish mythology.

In this first installment, we learn about the scriptures where Metatron is found. The main ones are the books of Enoch from the first few centuries CE. They are a collection of Jewish apocryphal texts that were very popular in some ancient Jewish and Christian sects.

Next up: The character of Enoch

[queercomposerkarlsson]

Me playing trombone

This one features in an upcoming youtube video. (both the sketch and real life me playing)

[queercomposerkarlsson]

I have come to realize that art is something I can just make, even if I never considered myself a visual artist. In the last few days i have discovered that there are lots of great resources out there for beginners like me to learn the basics.

Anyways, here is Otin!

Reference:

[queercomposerkarlsson]

Cool!

Let’s go brass players

[queercomposerkarlsson]

New Video!

This is my take on the ethnic Greenlandic anthem, co-official with Nunarput, utoqqarsuanngoravit, which can also be heard here in the trumpets. I have also listened to several Greenlandic drum dance performances and represented some of its characteristics in the bassoon, flute and percussion.

One interesting thing about Inuit drumming is that the sound isn't produced by hitting the drum skin. Instead, the wooden edge struck, causing a sharp attack while still making the skin vibrate.