Published: 2007
Fanfare for the Common Consumer presents the theme of economic rationalism versus spirituality, despite its ironically bright and cheerful musical flavour. Despite the similarity of the title, it is not meant to have any direct musical relationship to Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. The reference to the title of the Copland is made with respect to the sentiment of his work. However, Fanfare for the Common Consumer proposes a mutation of this sentiment in relation to the struggles of the general community within the confines of the modern, consumer driven world. The music depicts the troubles of the ‘common person’ through a juxtaposition of two elements. Firstly, the modern world is represented by pseudo-minimalist, rhythmic passages of semiquavers. By contrast, the ‘common person’ is portrayed romantically, by thematic material which slowly becomes more broad and sweeping as it competes against the persistent perpetuo-mobile.
