Portland’s Third Angle played the piece under an airplane in McMinnville, the subsequent recording is pure science-fiction.  by Nolan Parker The power of place and context are not lost on Third Angle New Music. Founded in 1985, t he Portland nonprofit curates site-specific experiences featuring music by young composers and venerated 20th century legends, often commissioning brand new pieces for their performances. For example, in January, Third Angle tucked musicians into the nooks and crannies of Central Eastside experimental playground Hopscotch, using the venue as a concert hall for four different versions of Steve Reich’s Counterpoints. On March 6, Philip Glass’ Orange Mountain Music record label released a recording of 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, a 1988 “science fiction music drama” composed by Glass, with libretto written by David Henry Hwang. Recorded by Third Angle between October 2023 and March 2024, this is the first ever complete recording of the one act piece. While the recording doesn’t directly capture the two live performances Third Angle premiered in 2023, those were some special shows. The approximately 80-minute work was staged under the Hughes H-4 Hercules “Spruce Goose” airplane in the hangar of McMinnville, Oregon’s Evergreen Aviation Space Museum. Third Angle enlisted acclaimed actress-vocalist Ithica Tell to read Hwang’s libretto, which follows a character called M—a distinct nod to Kafka’s single-letter antiheroes—around New York City as they descend into a shame spiral of depersonalization, becoming suspicious of themself and those around them. The role has been played by different genders, but Third Angle framed M as a queer Black woman. And Tell read with nuance and conviction, moving throughout the multi-leveled staging as if actually pounding New York pavement. Coupled with the ethereal otherworldly vocals of Arwen Myers’ soprano, the effect was devastating. Third Angle artistic director Sarah Tiedemann describes the music of 1000 Airplanes as “a gateway into the deeper subject matter of the piece,” drawing correlations between M’s experiences to disorienting oppressions we continue to endure today, from masked agents disappearing Black and brown community members to our trans siblings losing the rights to their own bodies. Chunks of M’s life and memory are missing, and they grasp not only for the meaning of their own life but that of human existence itself. Interpretations of M’s experience range from alien abductions to mental health crises or assaults facilitated by roofies. Musicians from the 2023 performances, left to right: Nikolas Caoile, Yoko Greeney, John Nastos, Sarah Tiedemann, Sean Fredenburg, Arwen Myers, Maria Garcia. Sara Wright “No, I’m not a psychopath. But yes, I am disturbed,” M exasperates themself, thinking in circles. Is M crazy if they’re the only one able to see through the long centuries of violent capitalism, no one else around them seems to care about or even notice? Or is M crazy because of their refusal to take part in a system of violence that most (in the US) seem content to live within? Performing 1000 Airplanes in the museum’s hangar overtly framed the sci-fi melodrama with its vastness, nodding to the piece’s title. But the most dramatic place-based underscoring of the performances were its sunsets.Tiedemann says she researched the sunset times for both evenings of the performances, so that “as M is descending into the darker corners of her mind, the sun was setting in the background, giving [Third Angle] the opportunity to illuminate the plane.” A crowd at one of the 2023 performances. Sara Wright The in-studio recordings that followed include not only Tell’s reading, but also a second disc with an instrumental version of 1000 Airplanes. The hope is, Tiedemann explains, that the listener will be given two albums: One with Tell’s reading of Hwang’s libretto for a focused, true-to-composition listening experience and the other to be enjoyed as a more casual, libretto-less sonic landscape. When asked what next for Third Angle’s production of 1000 Airplanes, Tiedemann responded: “Each step of [1000 Airplanes] has been so all-encompassing that all of us at Third Angle have been holding on for dear life.” Now that the album is out in the world, Tiedemann and crew can start thinking about how to get the performance back in front of people live, alluding to another potential set of Portland performances and a possible European run. “The challenge logistically is that I want it to be an immersive experience every time Third Angle performs it,” she said, “requiring so much more infrastructure to set up in each location. We’re always seeking supporters who would like to help us put these larger projects together.” Orange Mountain Music released Third Angle New Music’s production of Philip Glass and David Henry Hwang’s 1000 Airplanes on the Roof on Fri March 6. Find it at orangemountainmusic.com. More about Third Angle at thirdangle.org. ...read more read less