Date/Time
Date(s) - 11/07/2020
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Category(ies)
- Acoustic
- ArtsEarth Partner
- Discussion
- Music
- Lecture
- Audio
- Avant-Garde
- Talk
- Classical
- Culture
- Electronic
- Ensemble
- Experimental
- Improvisation
- International
- Online
- Presentation
- Pop
- Psychedelic
- Rock
- Series
- Sonic
- Soul
- Symphonic
- Vocal
- World
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More than fifty years after they exploded onto the music scene, The Beatles still capture our imagination as few groups have. In this four-day course, we will delve into The Beatles’ career, development, and songwriting process through a deep-dive into two extraordinary albums, the “bookends” of Rubber Soul and Revolver, which marked the end of their commercially driven era and a transition to a more experimental sound.
Recorded in the fall of 1965, and a decisive step away from Beatlemania, Rubber Soul showcased the band’s growing maturity as songwriters and studio artists. It was also their second complete album of originals, after 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night. Steeped in equal parts of Bob Dylan, Stax, and Motown soul, Rubber Soul illustrated how pop was rapidly shifting from discrete pop singles to album-length artistic statements. 1966’s Revolver was a landmark—arguably their greatest album. An explosion of influences—psychedelia, American soul, avant-garde European classical/electronic music, Hindustani classical music, and British music hall—Revolver was the album that opened up vast, new artistic spaces and changed rock history. It was also their first album that could not be easily, or adequately, performed by the band live on stage. The course will include lectures, discussions, and the opportunity to listen closely to individual tracks, as we examine the studio process, equipment, techniques, and songwriting craft that brought these albums to life.
Joel Phillip Friedman, Composer; Lecturer
Joel Phillip Friedman’s concert, theater, and film music has been performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, on London’s West End, and in Off-Broadway theaters. He has taught at Swarthmore, Georgetown, Stanford, and Catholic University. He received a DMA from Columbia, where he was a President’s Fellow.
- DOWNLOAD THE PRELIMINARY SYLLABUS » (subject to change)