The BQE
Soundtrack album by
Sufjan Stevens
ReleasedOctober 20, 2009
Genre
Length40:16
LabelAsthmatic Kitty
ProducerSufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens chronology
Songs for Christmas
(2006)		 The BQE
(2009)		 All Delighted People EP
(2010)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.9/10[2]
Metacritic73/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Drowned in Sound7/10[5]
NME9/10[6]
Pitchfork7.4/10[7]
Slant Magazine[8]

The BQE is a mixed-medium artistic exploration of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway by Sufjan Stevens. The project originally manifested in the form of a live show, performed on November 1–3, 2007. The show consisted of an original film, directed and written by Stevens, accompanied by an orchestra performing a live soundtrack.

The album recording was made after the rehearsals for the show. It was recorded live during a one-day session in Legacy Studios' A509 orchestral suite (since closed and demolished) with most of the group in the same large room together.

A multimedia package of The BQE was released on October 20, 2009. The set consists of a CD of the show's soundtrack, a DVD of Brooklyn-Queen Expressway footage that accompanied the original performance (not a film of the performance itself), a 40-page booklet with liner notes and photos, and a stereoscopic 3D View-Master reel. There is also a limited edition version that features the soundtrack on 180-gram vinyl and a 40-page BQE-themed comic book starring the show's hula-hooping wonder women, The Hooper Heroes.

Regarding The BQE, Stevens said:

I intended to create a non-personal, non-narrative piece. I tried to reduce my own personal investment as much as possible, and I refused to incorporate one of my strengths, which is the song. I was relinquishing my greatest weapon.[9]

Ballet

Justin Peck's ballet, In the Countenance of Kings, is set to music from The BQE, made for the San Francisco Ballet.[10][11]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Prelude on the Esplanade"2:56
2."Introductory Fanfare for the Hooper Heroes"1:07
3."Movement I: In the Countenance of Kings"5:19
4."Movement II: Sleeping Invader"4:34
5."Interlude I: Dream Sequence in Subi Circumnavigation"3:33
6."Movement III: Linear Tableau with Intersecting Surprise"4:09
7."Movement IV: Traffic Shock"3:24
8."Movement V: Self-Organizing Emergent Patterns"3:45
9."Interlude II: Subi Power Waltz"0:28
10."Interlude III: Invisible Accidents"0:54
11."Movement VI: Isorhythmic Night Dance with Interchanges"3:17
12."Movement VII (Finale): The Emperor of Centrifuge"3:51
13."Postlude: Critical Mass"2:59
Total length:40:16
DVD-only bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."The Sleeping Red Wolves[12][13]"4:23
Total length:44:39

Personnel

Production

  • Alejandro Venguer, assisted by Jeff Kirby and Tyler Van Dalen – recording, legacy studios, New York City
  • Casey Foubert, James McAlister, and Sufjan Stevens – additional recording, Sufjan's office in Brooklyn
  • Sufjan Stevens – mixing
  • Lisa Moran – production management
  • Michael Atkinson – music editing, copyist

Performing artists

"Hooper Heroes" Comic Book/Stereoscopic Reel

  • Sufjan Stevens – story, writing
  • Stephen Halker – story, penciling, inking, lettering, coloring
  • Heidi Cho – coloring
  • David Min – coloring
  • Matt Loux – cover watercolour
  • Christian Ackler – cover masthead

Charts

Chart performance for The BQE
Chart (2009) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[14] 171
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[15] 18

References

  1. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens All Delighted People". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens: the BQE". anydecentmusic.com. AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "The BQE by Sufjan Stevens". Metacritic. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  4. ↑ AllMusic review
  5. ↑ "Drowned in Sound review". Archived from the original on 2009-10-20. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  6. ↑ NME review
  7. ↑ Pitchfork review
  8. ↑ Slant review
  9. ↑ Bell, Sean (2009-10-19). "Sufjan Stevens: American 21st-century Renaissance man". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  10. ↑ "2016 Repertory Season: Program 7: San Francisco Ballet". www.sfballet.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  11. ↑ "Justin Peck world premiere rounds out SF Ballet Program 7" by Leslie Katz, San Francisco Examiner. April 11, 2016. Accessed April 13, 2016.
  12. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/asthmatickitty/videos/10154819349836412/
  13. ↑ "Pink Narcissus".
  14. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Sufjan Stevens Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
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