The BQE (soundtrack)

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 BQE
Soundtrack album by Sufjan Stevens
Released	October 20, 2009
Genre	Avant-garde electro-classical^[1]
Length	40:16
Label	Asthmatic Kitty
Producer	Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens chronology
Songs for Christmas (2006) The BQE (2009) All Delighted People EP (2010)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.9/10^[2]
Metacritic	73/100^[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]
Drowned in Sound	7/10^[5]
NME	9/10^[6]
Pitchfork	7.4/10^[7]
Slant Magazine	^[8]

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, made for the San Francisco Ballet, is set to music from The BQE.^[10][11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
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.	Title	Length
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

Tim Albright – trombone Hideaki Aomori – clarinet Mat Fieldes – upright bass Casey Foubert – electric guitar Josh Frank – trumpet Alan Hampton – upright bass Marla Hansen – viola, vocals Jay Hassler – bass clarinet, clarinet Maria Bella Jeffers – cello Ben Lanz – trombone Olivier Manchon – violin Rob Moose – violin Sato Moughalian – flute, piccolo Damian Primis – bassoon

Theo Primis – French horn Joey Redhage – cello Kyle Resnick – trumpet Yuuki Matthews – bass, beats Beth Meyers – viola James McAlister – drums, percussion, drum programming, sequencing, synthesizers, sound effects, etc. Matt Moran – drums, percussion Arthur Sato – oboe Alex Sopp – flute, alto flute, piccolo Hiroko Taguchi – violin Amie Weiss – violin Sufjan Stevens – "everything else" Michael Atkinson – conductor

BQE Film Anastasia-Dyan Pridlides – botanica Elaine Tian – quantus Lindsay Brickel – electress Sufjan Stevens – direction, cinematography, editing Reuben Kleiner – cinematography, editing Malcolm Hearn – editing Bryant Fisher and Blink Digital – post-production

Packaging Denny Renshaw – photography Anastasia-Dyan Pridlides – botanica Elaine Tian – quantus Lindsay Brickel – electress Stephen Halker – bailey Virginia Bradley Linzee – makeup Belinda Martin – wardrobe Caroline McAlister – costume design, costumes Sufjan Stevens – photography, layout, design, illustrations

"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 August 5, 2016.
2. "Sufjan Stevens: the BQE". anydecentmusic.com. AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
3. "The BQE by Sufjan Stevens". Metacritic. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
4. AllMusic review
5. . Archived from the original on October 20, 2009. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
6. NME review
7. Pitchfork review
8. Slant review
9. Bell, Sean (October 19, 2009). "Sufjan Stevens: American 21st-century Renaissance man". Herald Scotland. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
10. . www.sfballet.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
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/ ^{[user-generated source]}
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.

External links

• Asthmatic Kitty Records' page for The BQE