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: Hello! : I'm Guillermo Saar, a BA candidate in Enviromnental Studies this May : at Ramapo College. I am writing you for help on my senior term final : paper. I am researching music as it reflects and informs social : crisis. The paper updates Mahler's Symphony no. 7 in this light, : linking it to a more recent work, Harrison Birtwistle's "Pulse : Shadows" (as well as Alfred Schnittke's "Psalms of Repentance"). The : three works, as I am connecting them, reflect ways of perceiving and : dealing with particularly volatile world conditions. : My take, in brief: : Mahler's 7th has the landler and waltz breaking down into something : nastier and removed from the dances they originated as. The seventh's : relative obscurity -it can be considered a black sheep of the Mahler : canon- made me look into why this is so, as perhaps it is showing : some aspects of humanity that are too close to true, too honest, too : real to make it popular. I bring Birtwistle in with as I see his work : sharing these similarities, taking advantage of the recent publicity : it gained by dint of its Gramophone award. Schnittke brings a : different kind of solution, though one using the same elements : (Christian, Jewish, folk) used by Mahler. His Psalms show a melding : of different worldviews, including the tension so familiar in Mahler : but with an eye on what is past the conflict as well. I see hope in : all three works, though the times they reflect may not have given : rise to it. : Please give me any anecdotes, websites, lists, contacts or other ways : to further delve into this matter. I have many recordings (over 5 of : each completed symphony) and have seen the 'usual' book sources and : websites (R. Greenberg's "Great Masters" series, Duggan's overview, : etc.) and need the quirkier, off-the-beaten-path pieces. Surely you : have come across these, I thank you so much in advance for any time : you afford me in this matter. I will post a site where you can see the finished : work (with requisite acknowledgements) when I get there. Thank you again. : Sincerely, : Guillermo Saar

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