Jason McClellanSalt Lake Community CollegeMUSC-1010-042Introduction to MusicNovember 12, 2011

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.

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

RICHARD WAGNERAC / DC

UCLA - SCHOOL OF ARCHAEOLOGYCALIFORNIA RECORDING STUDIO

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 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.

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 FoxColumbiaDisneyMiramaxParamountTristarUniversal PicturesWarner Brothers

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 ESPosthumus. My brother and I created ESP together and we'll "exit stage left" together as well. Helmut Vonlichten

Though few listeners recognize the name E.S.Posthumus they likely will recognize their musical contributions.AvatarThe Lord of the RingsThe Matrix TrilogyMinority ReportNFL on CBS themePirates of the CarribeanPlanet of the ApesDozens of move trailersAbility to modernize and give relevance to classical music theory through fusion with contemporary technique.

AriseMenouthisPompeiiUnstoppable

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.

The 10th track from Unearthed Initial 2001 release of 1000 CDsRe-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 TreasurePlanet of the ApesTomb Raider: The Cradle of LifeThe Recruit

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.

CatwomanCurse of the Golden FlowerPlanet of the ApesSpider-Man

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 worksEnds with powerful heroic brass qualities.Create a sense of protagonism rather than antagonism in the face of danger.

Miami RedHawksMiami Universitys ice hockeyThe Orlando Magic themeSherlock HolmesA Game of Shadows Unstoppable (2010)Celebrity Masterchef

CompositionYoutube.com LinkRhapsody.com LinkAriseArise - E.S. PosthumusAriseMenouthisMenouthis - E.S. PosthumusMenouthisPompeiiPompeii - E.S. PosthumusPompeiiUnstoppableUnstoppable - E.S. PosthumusUnstoppable

0:00Introduction Dissonant harmony. Ascending arpeggios. Creates a sense of tension to set the stage for the melody that follows.0:30Melody A Strings homophony of arching arpeggios. Deliberate and measured quality. Escalating crescendos to silence motif exposed for the first time. 1:17Melody B Silence broken by increased dynamic. Dissonance tells the listener that something sinister has arrived. Building crescendo again to silence. 2:10Melody 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. 3:43Coda 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.

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

0:00Introduction 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.0:45Melody B A lighter and smoother performance by the choir, strings follow in monophony. 1:07Melody C - Heavily synthetic in comparison to other performances. More active bass work and violins as the primary voice of the melody. 1:32Melody A Repeat of Melody A.2:05Melody B Repeat of Melody B.2:28Melody C Repeat of Melody C with slick bridge to finale.2:50Bridge Softer dynamic, but builds to crescendo and silence.3:15Melody C Repeat of Melody C and conclusion of the performance.

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.0:00Prologue - mezzo-piano adagio broken into three phrases. Angry thundering drums in eerie background.0:40Part 1 - Increasingly powerful crescendos and exchanges in primary voice. 1:15Part 2 - evolving melody. ultimately builds to crescendo and silence.1:35Part 3 Instruments enter one-by-one in pseudo-round. The voices build to a polyphonic crescendo together to silence.1:58Coda 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.

Artistopia (2011). E.S. Posthumus Biography, Albums, Media Usage. Retrieved from http://www.artistopia.com/e.s.-posthumusC.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.htmDoe, Michael. Trailer Music News. (Jul 28, 2010). Tragedy Strikes ES Posthumus. Retrieved from http://www.trailermusicnews.com/content/tragedy-strikes-es-posthumusGoldwasser, D. SoundtrackNet. (May 26, 2005). Interview E.S. Posthumus: Unearthing Pythagoras. Retrieved from http://www.soundtrack.net/features/article/?id=148McClellan, J. (Oct 1, 2011). E.S. Posthumus Biography, Composition History, & Listening GuideNapolitano, J. Original Sound Version: Feature, Indie Music. (Dec 17, 2009). TheDefinition 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

Experimental Sounds Posthumus (fl. 2000-2010) is an independent music group composed of brothers Franz and Helmut Vonlichten of Los Angeles, California. Experimental may refer to their method of generating modern classical music by mixing tracks in a recording studio much like a rapper or techno artist might. Or, it may refer to the fusion of electronic, classical symphonic, and choral tracks supported by powerful contemporary rock styled percussion to create emotional, cinematic compositions.*The Vonlichten brothers cite their mother as their greatest encouragement to pursue music. Mrs. Vonlichten was a classical pianist and instructor and began teaching the boys at age three to play the piano, read music, and eventually compose. Franz recalled that their mother would smack our knuckles with a ruler when we played the piano incorrectly, and still does now on occasion. *The Vonlichten sons discovered differing musical preference. Franz described Helmut as an orchestration junkie for as long as he could remember, enjoying Mahler, Shostakovich, and Wagner, while Helmut preferred AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Their household was a very musical one. When they werent training on the piano, they were studying scores or rocking to their preferred music in their respective bedrooms (while competing for volume).*Neither brother ever received any formal musical education beyond that of their mother. After graduating from high school, rock & roll leaning Franz found employment in a California recording studio and supplemented his income by bagging groceries, while classically leaning Helmut went on to graduate from UCLA with a degree in Archaeology. However, for the Vonlichtens, music had been always been the number one love. In an interview, Franz said that he and Helmut would literally sit at a piano together and write in a collaborative process that included brotherly love, hate, and fist fights.

*The Vonlichtens viewed the concept for their first album as a personal experiment. The brothers had been discussing fusing choir and orchestra with electronic, world beats, and ethnic instruments for years. In their opinion, the concept was original and thus had no pre-existing template to which they could compare to and were unsure if the result would be appealing.

*Immediate realization of their dream was blocked by financial difficulty. 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. Franz joked, To secure funding, we beat up little kids for their milk money and saved our cash for years! But, eventually they had enough capital to record the orchestrations that they had created. Pooling their resources, Franz and Helmut used what they described as an ungodly sum of cash to hire the Seattle Choir Company, Seattle Music orchestra, and conductor David Sabee to perform and record the works that they had collaboratively composed.*The resulting album Unearthed was released 2001 and despite only 1000 copies originally being produced, it was an instant success. The cinematic quality of their recordings captured the attention of and was licensed by virtually every major film producer including 20th Century Fox, Columbia, Disney, Miramax, Paramount, Tristar, Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers, and more. This success prompted the wider re-release of the album in 2005. A success and impact that was faithfully continued in their subsequent albums Cartographer and Makara. *Sadly, in July 2011, Helmut Vonlichten publicly announced that his beloved brother had died unexpectedly in May of that year under undisclosed circumstances. Helmut spoke of his brothers memory and the fate of E.S. Posthumus:

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 ESPosthumus. My brother and I created ESP together and we'll "exit stage left" together as well. Helmut Vonlichten

*Though few listeners may recognize the name E.S. Posthumus, many will undoubtedly recognize their powerful musical contributions to the scores of popular films such as Spider-Man, Avatar, Minority Report, Planet of the Apes, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lord of the Rings and Matrix trilogies, and too many more to list. They may also recognize their works from numerous television shows, dozens of movie trailers, and even The NFL on CBS theme. The Vonlichtens impact on the entertainment industry and ability to modernize and give relevance to classical theory through fusion with contemporary technique is truly remarkable.*Arise is the 11th track from E.S. Posthumuss 3rd album Makara. Composed 2009 2010 and released with the album February 2010 via Wigshop Records. Like many pieces composed by the group, Arise features escalating dynamic and cinematic quality. Notable contributions include orchestral performance by the Seattle Music Orchestra, bass guitar by Lance Morrison, and percussion tracks by Efrain Toro and Matt Lang.

Although originally written as the theme to the CBS AFC Championship for the NFL 2008 season, the piece was also utilized by Twentieth Century Fox for the 2009 blockbuster hit Avatar and among many other tracks from the Makara album was used extensively throughout the 2010 BBC series Celebrity Masterchef. The title Arise is thematically illustrated in the escalating nature and tonal shift from minor to major through the course of the composition.*Menouthis is the 10th track from the premiere album Unearthed by E.S. Posthumus. Originally self-produced and released on a limited 1000 CDs in January 2001, the album and track were later re-released through Wigshop and 33rd Street Records in May 2005. The composition features the same percussion and orchestral talents by Efrain Toro, Matt Lang, and the Seattle Music Orchestra, and includes synthesizer work by the Vonlichtens a powerful choral performance by the Seattle Choir Company and Egyptian mizmar work by an un-credited artist.

This anxiogenic piece has been used extensively in media to color menacing scenes.

Notable credits include Planet of the Apes (2001), Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), The Recruit (2003), and National Treasure (2004). 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.*From the Unearthed album, Pompeii is featured as the 12th track. The work conjures many of the same emotions as the previous track and harnesses much of the same instrumentation: strings and choir by Seattle Music Orchestra and Seattle Choir Company, with percussion again performed by Toro and Lange and bass guitar by Lance Morrison.

In contrast to the more orchestral Menouthis, Pompeii includes more heavily synthesized tracks and is included in many feature films including Planet of the Apes (2001), Spider-Man (2002), Catwoman (2004), and Curse of the Golden Flower (2006). The title Pompeii refers to the ancient Roman city utterly destroyed by earthquakes, epic volcanic eruptions, and buried beneath ash for nearly seventeen centuries.*The final chosen composition, Unstoppable, is the 3rd track of the Makara album. The performance again combines the Seattle Music Orchestra with Lance Morrison, Efrain Toro, and Matt Lang. Added to this archetypal mixture is electric guitar instrumentation by Michael Landau all composed and mixed by Franz and Helmut Vonlichten.

The composition was originally commissioned by CBS as the theme to the AFC 2007 NFL Championship, but its powerful heroic qualities were utilized for a great number of other media including the Miami RedHawks and Miami Universitys ice hockey teams, The Orlando Magic theme (2009-2010 seasons), Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), the like-titled 20th Century Fox film Unstoppable (2010), and extensively throughout the BBC series Celebrity Masterchef (2010). Though it bears the minor and perilous tone of many other E.S. Posthumus works, the ascending form of the brass instruments in the middle and end of the work create a sense of protagonism rather than antagonism in the face of danger.*Introduction0:00The performance begins with a single mezzo-piano strike of the tympani. This queues the violins to begin playing repeated root notes that break into a series of ascending notes of the same dynamic. The final note of each violin phrase creates dissonance with the root, which leaves the listener with a sense of tension. A second group of violins and bass strings answer each other in descending fashion while supported with pianissimo percussion by hand drums and shakers.Melody A0:30A light cymbal crescendo begins the next phase. The light percussion resumes while mezzo-forte cellos play five note arching arpeggios and the violins harmonize in consonance with correlating three note arpeggios and corresponding pauses at the missing notes. Their timbre has a very deliberate and measured quality and after establishing their homophonic melody they shift to a monophonic and even more deliberate crescendo ending in silence. This series of escalating crescendos to silence will be a repeated motif, not just throughout the composition, but also in those to follow.Melody B1:17The silence is broken with strong forte root notes from the electric bass corresponding to the beat of the common rhythm. The violins and later the bass strings answer with notes in dissonant harmony. This powerful dissonance gives the listener the impression that something sinister has arrived. A contemporary drum kit enters and gains prominence frequently underscored by cymbal crashes. All voices again build to homophonic crescendo, monophonic crescendo, and end in silence.Melody A2:10The performance shifts back to the consonant melody of 0:30, yet now including the power of the electric and percussion contemporary instruments. A second set of violins joins with and seems to carry the rest of the instruments into an ascending form. There is a sense of proud and positive emotion building from the ascending forte crescendo and harmonic consonance.Melody A2:59A defiant tympani drum roll brings a shift from minor to major tonality and fortissimo dynamic. The strings increase in pitch and dynamic and the percussion becomes even more pronounced. The positive sensation continues to climb. Final Climax3:32An electric guitar ascends harmonically and dynamically into crescendo as the drums slam with every beat. All instruments have stretched to fortississmo dynamic and toward their upper range into climax. This great crescendo again ends in silence.Coda3:43Violins creep into the silence with a pianissimo to forte crescendo which is answered by a cello decrescendo to bring closure to the performance.NotesThis piece could be described as transitional. It began in foreboding minor tonality, and subdued dynamic; Yet, through a series of escalating crescendos into silence and an eventual shift to major tonality it came to a bright and triumphant conclusion. The cinematic and often programmatic quality of this and other performances by E.S. Posthumus, give the impression that they were written specifically for a movie scene, though they are were all composed to stand alone.

*Introduction0:00Opens with booming tympani and a fortissimo choir, strings, and brass descend in homophony. The tempo is slow, grave, and deliberate. The instruments follow a decrescendo into mezzo-piano tremolo and eventual silence. Melody A0:17Cymbal crash welcomes forte descending arpeggios played harsh and fiercely from the strings ascend and crescendo with each phrase. A set of drums and shakers provide percussive rhythm until the fortissimo melody abruptly breaks to silence.Melody B0:35Drums lead into a new smooth, fluid, and sinister melody by the violins supported by the same arpeggio from previous in softer dynamic. Although the persisting arpeggio was the A melody, in this section it is suppressed substantially to showcase Melody B.Melody A1:07Melody B ends as the remainder of the performance continues. The suppressed arpeggios once again begin in their slow crescendo. New to this iteration of Melody A is a more prominent percussion voice and synthesized alarm wail. When the crescendo reaches its peak, the melody terminates with all instruments, but percussion continuing.Melody B1:40The composition repeats Melody B with virtual exactness. A return to this smooth and sinister melody gives the listener a break from the harsh and anxiety eliciting Melody A.Melody C2:13The smooth violin Melody B is replaced with a new melody performed by mizmar and the synthesized wailing returns. The mizmar gives the composition a Middle-Eastern quality that appropriately captures the concept of Menouthis as a lost Egyptian city. The dynamic crescendos again into an abrupt silence.Melody B2:45A drum leads in to the resumption of the haunting Melody B by the violins. In this iteration the mizmar continues from the previous section, but rather than playing Melody C, plays Melody B in monophony with the treble strings.Coda3:19The choir returns in ascending form and all instruments build to fortissimo underlined by the cymbal crashes until an abrupt termination.

*Introduction0:00A rapidly beating snare drum begins a synthetic waa waa sound and an electric bass in support. The introduction has a more modern techno feel than the previous compositions, though we can hear a piano symphony building power in the background.Melody A0:12A choir and the strings sing the melody in rhythmic homophony and crisply on each beat. The choir and treble strings repeat a single note in each phrase as the bass strings descend, but each successive phrase is at an increasingly higher pitch to create an overall ascending form with a crescendo dynamic.Melody B0:45Melody B features a lighter and smoother performance by the choir, and the strings follow in monophony. The melody ends in heavy percussion and a synthesized squeal.Melody C1:07Melody C is more heavily synthetic in comparison with the other sounds we have been listening to. This section features much more active bass work and violins as the primary voice of the melody. At 1:22 the brass section enters with powerful ascending notes and the whole performance builds into crescendo and ends in silence filled only by the shaker.Melody A1:32This section begins with another drum lead-in to a virtual repeat of Melody A. Melody B2:05Again a virtual repeat of Melody B from 0:45. By this point the form of the composition has begun to become apparent as ABCABC.Melody C2:28Just as expected, the next section follows Melody C with brass crescendo at 2:39. To return to Melody A after this series would likely be monotonous, and the composer smartly bridge to a finale.Bridge2:50The Bridge features a softer dynamic with strings and waa filling the primary voice. At 3:00 the drums and strings enter in descending form, build to crescendo and then silence for the final section.Melody C3:15A return to Melody C concludes the composition. This iteration is identical to prior appearance except that after crescendo, silence ends the song with no continued shaker to lead to another section.

*UnstoppableNotesI interpret Unstoppable as a programmatic composition. As I listen to the performance, I envision the scene of an epic battle between a hero and antagonist. I feel that the thundering drums and bass are the voice of the villain, and the brass, particularly the trumpets represent the protagonist.Prologue0:00This section of the composition is played mezzo-piano adagio and broken into three phrases. The melody is voiced by the strings with the violins having the most prominent role. In the first phrase, the treble strings play a descending phrase into silence which is broken by angry and rapid drum beats. The percussion pierces the silence like thunder and is gone just as quickly. In the second phrase the strings descend further in pitch and again are silenced by the thundering drums. The strings move to the third phrase of arching form that brings a sense of closure to the first section and transitioning with some light synthesized work into silence. Part 10:40When the instruments return the dynamic and tempo have moved from adagio to a fierce forte. Tympani rolls queue increasingly powerful crescendos and exchanges in primary voice. The percussion maintains prominence throughout, but the melody belongs to the strings, brass, and electric instruments in turn. The melody builds to an ultimate fortissimo crescendo before slamming abruptly back to forte for the melody in Part 2.Part 21:15Part 2 features an evolving melody, it begins with a disjointed melody played by the violins underscored by deep bass and percussion beats in rhythm. At 1:22 a second treble string voice enters to play a higher pitched homophony of the disjointed melody and at 1:29 the electric bass shifts from single low notes to prominent arching slides ultimately building a crescendo until an abrupt change to part 3.Part 31:35All instruments, including percussion, silence and the strings enter one by one in what initially appears to be organized in a round. As the mezzo-forte melody progresses it develops into a more complex polyphony rather than a round. At 1:44 a drum roll welcomes back the fortissimo dynamic and all of the instruments from part 2 which add to the continuing string melody. The voices build to a polyphonic crescendo together then switch to a punching, monophonic, descending pitch; crescendo of dynamic, and ritardando of tempo. The brass holds a single note through the crescendo and all instruments meet silence together.Coda1:58The silence is broken by the thundering drums and a 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. At 2:15 trumpets become the most prominent melodic voice. Their ascending crescendo gives the section a heroic and protagonistic quality despite all of the chaos and danger voiced by the supporting instruments. The melody builds to an ultimate crescendo and a hanging silence. All of the instruments blast homophonic notes that hearken the end of the conflict.End2:40As the composition reaches its ending, the deep drums continue to rumble in background as lighter percussion carries the scene to silence.

*