E.S. Posthumus Biography, Composition History, & Listening Guide

1. E.S. PosthumusBiography, Composition History, & Listening Guide Jason McClellan Salt Lake Community College MUSC-1010-042 Introduction to Music November 12, 2011

2. Biography • Experimental Sounds Posthumus(fl. 2000-2010) • Independent group composed of brothers Franz and Helmut Vonlichten. • Hometown Los Angeles, California. • Style involves fusion of modern rock/synthetic and classical symphonic style. • Best known for emotional, cinematic compositions.

3. Biography • Mother was greatest inspiration to purse music. • Mrs. Vonlichten was a classically trained pianist and instructor. • Boys began musical instruction at age three.

4. Other Early Inspirations Richard Wagner AC / DC

5. Education UCLA - School of Archaeology California Recording Studio

6. “You have to realize this was a dream project for us. We really wanted to take these ideas we'd been kicking around in our brain since we were kids, and make them a reality. We had faith in our abilities enough to write and orchestrate everything on our own, especially Helmut.” – Franz Vonlichten The Personal Experiment

7. “An Ungodly Sum of Cash” • The brothers agreed that no one in their right mind would have made the initial investment necessary to allow them to produce their first album. “To secure funding, we beat up little kids for their milk money and saved our cash for years!” – Franz Vonlichten • Pooling their resources, Franz and Helmut used what they described as “an ungodly sum of cash” to hire the Seattle Music orchestra to perform and record the works that they had collaboratively composed.

8. Release of Unearthed The resulting album Unearthed was released 2001. Despite only 1000 copies, was an instant success. The cinematic quality captured the attention of virtually every major film producer 20th Century Fox Columbia Disney Miramax Paramount Tristar Universal Pictures Warner Brothers

9. “Tragedy Strikes E.S. Posthumus” • The death of Franz Vonlichten in July 2011 means an untimely conclusion to the rising stars. Franz was an extraordinary talent, among other things. I will miss his creative ear and incomparable musical palette. Most of all, however, I will miss his wit and humor; a consummate storyteller who found a punch line in even the most mundane scenarios. As for me, I will begin to rebuild what was washed away, albeit in a form other than ES Posthumus. My brother and I created ESP together and we'll "exit stage left" together as well. – Helmut Vonlichten

10. Impact Though few listeners recognize the name “E.S.Posthumus” they likely will recognize their musical contributions. Avatar The Lord of the Rings The Matrix Trilogy Minority Report NFL on CBS theme Pirates of the Carribean Planet of the Apes Dozens of move trailers Ability to modernize and give relevance to classical music theory through fusion with contemporary technique.

11. Composition History Arise Menouthis Pompeii Unstoppable

12. Arise The 11th track from Makara. Composed 2009 and released February 2010 Arise features escalating dynamic and cinematic quality. The title “Arise” is thematically illustrated in the escalating nature and minor to major tonal shift. CBS AFC NFL Championship theme. Avatar Celebrity Masterchef.

13. Menouthis The 10th track from Unearthed Initial 2001 release of 1000 CDs Re-released through Wigshop and 33rd Street Records in May 2005. The title “Menouthis” is reference to the sacred and ancient Egyptian city which was permanently drowned and lost beneath the Nile as a result of catastrophic earthquakes and massive flooding. This anxiogenic piece has been used extensively in media to color menacing scenes. National Treasure Planet of the Apes Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life The Recruit

14. Pompeii The 12th track from Unearthed. Also anxiogenic. Includes more heavily synthesized tracks. The title “Pompeii” refers to the ancient Roman city utterly destroyed by earthquakes, epic volcanic eruptions, and buried beneath ash for nearly seventeen centuries. Catwoman Curse of the Golden Flower Planet of the Apes Spider-Man

15. Unstoppable The 3rd track from Makara. Originally commissioned by CBS as the theme to the AFC 2007 NFL Championship. Begins with minor and perilous tone of sister works Ends with powerful heroic brass qualities. Create a sense of protagonism rather than antagonism in the face of danger. Miami RedHawks Miami University’s ice hockey The Orlando Magic theme Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows Unstoppable (2010) Celebrity Masterchef

16. Listening GuideOnline links to the audio media:

17. Arise • 0:00 Introduction – Dissonant harmony. Ascending arpeggios. Creates a sense of tension to set the stage for the melody that follows. • 0:30 Melody A – Strings homophony of arching arpeggios. Deliberate and measured quality. Escalating crescendos to silence motif exposed for the first time. • 1:17 Melody B – Silence broken by increased dynamic. Dissonance tells the listener that something sinister has arrived. Building crescendo again to silence. • 2:10 Melody A’ – Back to the consonant melody A with development by second violins. • 2:59Melody A’’ - Key change from minor to major tonality. Fortissimo dynamic achieved. Sound becomes even more proud and positive. • 3:32Climax – Electric guitar ascension. Drum slams with tempo. Great crescendo ends again in silence. • 3:43 Coda – Strings creep back in softly to bring closure and decrescendo to the performance. • Notes – Transitional and referential piece begins with foreboding minor tonality and subdued dynamic yet builds to crescendo and bright triumphant conclusion.

18. Menouthis • 0:00 Introduction - Booming fortissimo tympani, choir, strings, and brass descend in homophony. Slow, grave, and deliberate. • 0:17 Melody A – Fierce arpeggios. Melody abruptly breaks to silence. • 0:35 Melody B - Smooth, fluid, and sinister violin melody in softer dynamic. • 1:07 Melody A’ - Suppressed arpeggios once again begin slow crescendo. More prominent percussion voice and synthesized alarm wail. Crescendo peaks and breaks to silence while percussion continues. • 1:40 Melody B – Repeat of smooth Melody B gives the listener a break from harsh melody A. • 2:13 Melody C – Mizmar performance gives appropriate Middle-Eastern sense to capture concept of sunken city of Menouthis. The dynamic crescendos again into an abrupt silence. • 2:45 Melody B’ – Haunting melody B and mizmar. • 3:19 Coda - The choir returns in ascending form and all instruments build to fortissimo underlined by the cymbal crashes until an abrupt termination.

19. Pompeii • 0:00 Introduction – More modern techno feel than the previous compositions, with symphony building in background. • 0:12Melody A - Rhythmic homophony plays crisply on each beat. Each successive phrase is at an increasingly higher pitch to create an overall ascending form with a crescendo dynamic. • 0:45 Melody B – A lighter and smoother performance by the choir, strings follow in monophony. • 1:07 Melody C - Heavily synthetic in comparison to other performances. More active bass work and violins as the primary voice of the melody. • 1:32 Melody A – Repeat of Melody A. • 2:05 Melody B – Repeat of Melody B. • 2:28 Melody C – Repeat of Melody C with slick bridge to finale. • 2:50 Bridge – Softer dynamic, but builds to crescendo and silence. • 3:15 Melody C – Repeat of Melody C and conclusion of the performance.

20. Unstoppable • Notes – Listen to unstoppable as you would a programmatic compositon. I envision the scene of an epic battle between a hero and antagonist.. Consider the thundering drums and bass as the voice of the villain, and the brass, particularly the trumpets represent the protagonist. Short but sweet. • 0:00 Prologue - mezzo-piano adagio broken into three phrases. Angry thundering drums in eerie background. • 0:40 Part 1 - Increasingly powerful crescendos and exchanges in primary voice. • 1:15 Part 2 - evolving melody. ultimately builds to crescendo and silence. • 1:35 Part 3 – Instruments enter one-by-one in pseudo-round. The voices build to a polyphonic crescendo together to silence. • 1:58 Coda – Thundering drums and string glissando upward. Brass and strings enter together to sing a fortissimo homophonic melody giving the Coda the impression of the final showdown between opposing forces. Heroic trumpets become the most prominent melodic voice. All of the instruments blast homophonic notes that hearken the end of the conflict.

21. References • Artistopia (2011). E.S. Posthumus Biography, Albums, Media Usage. Retrieved from http://www.artistopia.com/e.s.-posthumus • C.C. Track Sounds. (Apr 15, 2008) E.S. Posthumus, Music from Off the Map. Retrieved from http://www.tracksounds.com/specialfeatures/interviews/interview_e_s_posthumus_2008_page1.htm • Doe, Michael. Trailer Music News. (Jul 28, 2010). Tragedy Strikes ES Posthumus. Retrieved from http://www.trailermusicnews.com/content/tragedy-strikes-es-posthumus • Goldwasser, D. SoundtrackNet. (May 26, 2005). Interview – E.S. Posthumus: Unearthing Pythagoras. Retrieved from http://www.soundtrack.net/features/article/?id=148 • McClellan, J. (Oct 1, 2011). E.S. Posthumus – Biography, Composition History, & Listening Guide • Napolitano, J. Original Sound Version: Feature, Indie Music. (Dec 17, 2009). The Definition of “Ruling”: E.S. Posthumus Interview. Retrieved from http://www.originalsoundversion.com/the-definition-of-ruling-es-posthumus-interview/ • Vonlichten, H. Facebook. (Jul 22, 2010). Sad News… Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=145393265476072