Our discussion in class about Tramp with Orchestra (Jesus’s Blood Never Failed Me Yet) really intrigued me. Was it ethical to create this piece with the recording of the tramp’s voice when the tramp may have never even heard it, much less have received monetary compensation for it? Somebody else in class described this song as stealing a part of the tramp’s soul, and I completely agree with that person. I also completely agree with Finn’s blog, in that the reason this piece feels like it captured a soul is because of its unremitting honesty. Like I said in class, this argument highly reminds me of photography. Suppose you take a picture of a girl crying on the street. Is it ethical to portray such sadness without compensating the subject of the photo? You’ve taken a picture of her when she is emotionally fully exposed, and if you’re a really good photographer, you’ve managed to compress some of her soul onto a sheet of paper. You could never learn her name and her portrait could hang in national museums. Is that different, somehow, because it is inherent in the medium of photography? Art is meant to portray life, and when the line between life and art is blurred substantially it can make people uncomfortable because they are forced to face the realities of life head-on. The serious negative reactions of a couple of people in our class to this piece because it felt like it nearly encapsulated a life made me have an even greater appreciation for the work. That is the mark of a seriously successful work of art. Another, I think, is the ability of the music to take on whatever emotions you bring to it, which I think was also shown in our class’ conversation by the way some people found it very uplifting and others found it very depressing.
In my opinion, souls are not meant to be kept anyway. We give away our soul willingly on a daily basis, by saying what we’re thinking and caring about people and creating art. Souls don’t have a limit. They replenish. I think it’s a sad thing that people are uncomfortable looking directly at who someone is. I do not believe Gavin Bryars had anything but the most honorable of intentions in creating this work. I still can’t find the right words to describe the tone of this piece. It isn’t depressing or uplifting, it’s just comforting. It’s another one of those works that reminds me of all sorts of cliched things like how there is always good around the corner and silver linings and such.
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