Blood on the Floor is a suite in nine movements composed for orchestra and jazz trio by Mark-Anthony Turnage. It was composed over a span of three years (1993–1996) after a commission from the Ensemble Modern—a German music group—to produce a piece for an evening jazz event in 1994. After the performance, Turnage expanded the piece into a larger nine-movement suite. During this period of composition, Turnage's brother Andrew died of a drug overdose, shaping the music greatly. As a result, drug culture is one of the main themes in the suite. Blood on the Floor also draws influences from the paintings of Francis Bacon and Heather Betts; the suite's title is an adaptation of Bacon's painting Blood on Pavement.
Like other compositions by Turnage, Blood on the Floor incorporates elements of both classical and jazz music. Due to this, it has been described as being part of the "third stream" genre, a term coined by Turnage's former teacher Gunther Schuller. The suite is written as a concerto grosso and features a blend of classical, jazz, non-western and electronic instruments. As part of this fusion, the suite contains space for soloists to improvise in four of its movements. Blood on the Floor shows elements of non-functional harmony and has complex rhythmic changes, often changing metre every bar. Motifs are found recurring throughout the suite.
The premiere performance of Blood on the Floor was by the Ensemble Modern at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, in May 1996. The suite received a mixed reception from music critics. Some enjoyed the suite's fusion of classical and jazz music, while others found it to be an unfulfilling combination. Outside of the Ensemble Modern, Blood on the Floor has been performed by various ensembles, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Composition Blood on the Floor was composed by the British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage between 1993 and 1996. During his compositional process, Turnage used sketches he had produced during a period of collaboration with the saxophonist Martin Robertson. These sketches were used to create the prologue of the suite.
The piece was commissioned in 1993 by the Ensemble Modern—a German group dedicated to contemporary classical music—for an evening jazz event with pieces by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and George Antheil. The version Turnage produced for the event was ten minutes long and was performed in 1994. After the event, Turnage expanded the piece into a nine movement suite; the final composition ended up being a little more than an hour long. This was largely due to persuasion from the Ensemble Modern, who have a history of working on larger musical projects. During the composition of Blood on the Floor, Turnage consulted Robertson, John Scofield and Peter Erskine, who would be playing in the jazz trio with the Ensemble Modern. Erskine objected to the level of notation in the drum kit part for the suite, leading Turnage to have a "culture shock" after restricting his score to its essential elements to allow Erskine more freedom.
Blood on the Floor takes inspiration from the paintings of Francis Bacon as with Turnage's previous works, like Three Screaming Popes. The suite's name is an adaptation of Bacon's painting, Blood on Pavement. Other works by Bacon, as well a painting by the Australian artist Heather Betts, influence elements of the suite. Blood on the Floor reflects Turnage's personal feelings on the death of his brother Andrew, who died of a drug overdose during its composition. As a consequence, drug culture is an overarching theme in the suite. Due to this, the music in Blood on the Floor is often quite harsh, with Turnage commenting that it was "probably the nastiest thing I have written".
Instrumentation Blood on the Floor is written as a concerto grosso, a form of concerto played by a group of soloists. The concertino consists of a jazz trio of electric guitar, soprano saxophone (doubling alto saxophone and bass clarinet) and drum kit. For the suite's orchestration, Turnage uses a mixture of orchestral and non-orchestral instruments, including instruments usually associated with jazz, as well as unusual instruments like synthesisers and scaffolding. The score calls for a large ripieno consisting of the following instruments:
Woodwinds 2 flutes (doubling alto flute and scaffolding) 2 oboes (doubling cor anglais) 2 clarinets in B (doubling bass clarinet, first doubling scaffolding) 2 soprano saxophones (doubling alto saxophone) 2 bassoons (doubling contrabassoon)
Brass 2 horns in F 2 trumpets in C 2 trombones euphonium tuba
Percussion (two players) 2 bass drums 2 bongo drums tabla bodhran splash cymbal piece of wood (hit with hammer) tambourines sleigh bells tam-tam 4 gongs (assorted sizes, one played with bow)
bonshō (temple bells) cowbells log drum marimba vibraphone glockenspiel crotales (sometimes played with bow) tubular bells bell plates maracas claves lion's roar djembe saucepan piano (doubling celesta and Fender Rhodes electric piano/Yamaha DX7) Strings 2 violin Is 2 violin IIs 2 violas 2 cellos double bass electric guitar bass guitar (doubling fretless bass and double bass)
Structure and music
Character
Blood on the Floor has been described as a "third stream" piece: a fusion of classical and jazz styles. The suite uses jazz chords as its harmonic basis and displays aspects of non-functional harmony. Blood on the Floor is neither tonal nor atonal: some passages feature tonal ideas, but there is never a single key that represents a movement. Turnage contrasts thematic ideas with no transitions in between them, creating juxtapositions. Driving rhythms are found in many sections of the suite. Complex metres are used, and metre changes occur in almost every bar.
In terms of notation, the concertino parts include a mixture of notated music and space for improvisation. Improvisation forms a major part of Blood on the Floor and appears in four movements (II, V, VI and VIII). Although his works combine classical and jazz music—of which improvisation is a key part—this was the first time that Turnage integrated improvisation into one of his compositions.
Motifs Turnage employs musical motifs heavily throughout Blood on the Floor. In his 2008 Doctor of Musical Arts thesis, Matthew Styles identifies a total of eight motifs employed that appear in the prologue and reappear throughout the other eight movements. Styles argues that this use of motifs adds musical unity to the suite and fulfils "the idea of a prologue": to introduce themes found later in the suite. One motif used is a recurring glissando played by the brass and low woodwind, which appears in the first, fifth and seventh movements. Another motif featured is a chromatic melody similar to the one played by the soprano saxophone. This melody is played by the bass clarinets and horns, and features a "spinning" cycle of notes based around D and E. It appears in the prologue and returns multiple times in the ninth movement, "Dispelling the Fears".
Movements Blood on the Floor consists of nine movements:
Each movement features different instrumentation and number of players. A full playing of the suite takes approximately 70–80 minutes.
I. Prologue: "Blood on the Floor" The suite's prologue is scored for the orchestra and lasts for approximately eight and a half minutes. The prologue features offbeat rhythms played by the soprano saxophone in a rotation of five chromatic notes. The movement is based around the note E, which is rooted in bass instruments at each end of the movement. Chromatic progressions are a major part of the prologue, which along with irregular shaping and metre changes makes the movement have an unrelenting feel. For example, in bars 66–69, Turnage uses a progression of metres: → → → . The loss of one quaver (eighth note) when changing to a bar gives the music a stumbling feeling. When paired with an accentuated upbeat, this groove helps to reinforce the melody and move the movement forward. Reflecting this, the music critic Andrew Clements wrote that the prologue of Blood on the Floor "is perhaps the most uncompromising and unforgiving music Turnage has written to date".
II. "Junior Addict"
This movement is scored for soprano saxophone, electric guitar and orchestra. "Junior Addict" is a wordless musical setting of the eponymous poem, written by Langston Hughes. The movement is in ternary form and lasts for approximately five and three-quarter minutes. "Junior Addict" opens with a theme played by the soprano saxophone, which has been described as a "very lyrical and haunting melody". This reflects the influence of Turnage's brother, whom the movement is dedicated to. The saxophone melody was later revisited by Turnage and used in the third movement of his 1994 composition, Two Elegies Framing a Shout. "Junior Addict" also features an electric guitar solo.
III. "Shout" "Shout" is scored for the orchestra and lasts for approximately five and a half minutes. "Shout" both starts and ends with passages played by the scaffolding, which is used as an unpitched percussion instrument throughout the movement, usually paired with the horns. The movements uses a ritornello taken from the prologue, which is found near melodies played by the clarinets.
IV. "Sweet and Decay" "Sweet and Decay" is scored for flutes, soprano saxophone and orchestra. The movement is approximately nine minutes long. "Sweet and Decay" originated from one of two sketches Turnage produced for his soprano saxophone concerto, Your Rockaby. The sketch was not used there, as Turnage thought that having two slow movements would be "overdoing it". In "Sweet and Decay", Turnage uses melodic cells set against a chordal background. The movement features solos from the saxophone and flute. At the end of the movement, Turnage instructs that there should be pause before "Needles" begins. This can be replaced with a full interval if wanted.
V. "Needles" "Needles" is scored for a jazz sextet and five other performers (trumpet, two horns, trombone and bass clarinet). The movement is a variation of ternary form (AABA) and lasts for approximately four and three-quarter minutes. Out of all the nine movements, "Needles" reflects conventional jazz performances the most. The movement starts with a soprano saxophone head melody, which then progresses to sections of soprano saxophone and electric guitar solos. The brass section continually interrupts the latter solo. These interjections accentuate the offbeats, giving the section a jazzy, big band feel. This feeling is reinforced by the presence of a big band-style riff, played by the group of five performers. After the solos, the movement returns to another playing of the head.
VI. "Elegy for Andy"
"Elegy for Andy" is scored for electric guitar and orchestra. It lasts for approximately eight and a quarter minutes. The movement has an angular theme played by electric guitar, which creates a sense of unease. The angular feeling is created by Turnage's use of wide intervals of 7ths and 9ths. This guitar melody progresses into an improvisational section. "Elegy for Andy" incorporates musical quotations from a piece played by Turnage at his brother's funeral and Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly. According to Clements, this movement is Blood on the Floor "emotional heart".
VII. "Cut Up" The movement is scored for alto saxophone, trombone, drum kit and orchestra. "Cut Up" features a trombone solo that was described as "fiendish" by Aksel Tollåli of Bachtrack. The movement lasts for approximately six and a quarter minutes. "Cut Up" has a complex structure and has been variously labelled a variation on verse and refrain, rondo and ternary forms. The movement's form can be represented using letters as ABCDACEAFCA.
VIII. "Crackdown"