Program Notes:
At the Edge of the Body’s Night (2008) for piano and digital acoustics is a setting of Seven Poems by the late poet, Mark Strand. These poems intrigued me with their potent brevity and mysterious symbolism. I found in their riddle-like form a concise emotional message, ideal for creating short melodic themes and inspiring fantastic piano music. When I recorded Mark’s voice reading the poems, I knew that his recitation would be part of the compositional resources for the piece. His resonant voice, enhanced by the audio editing process, provided a powerful context for the musical interpretation of his words. The addition of a soprano voice (Ashley Parker) in the digital landscape alludes to the traditional art song setting of poems. and her siren-call voice recalls the female muse that I imagined inspired the poet in writing his words. The piano music guides the listener throughout this fantastic journey of sound and music reflecting on the meaning and character of the poems and driving the dream-like narrative forward.
Performance of the digital acoustic:
Each of the six movements (I & II are combined) for piano are accompanied by a digital audio landscape as part of the performance. At the beginning of each section, a cue is notated in the score to start the audio wave file. It is recommended that a high fidelity audio play back system be employed in the recital hall or performance space. The sound system could be interfaced with a laptop computer or iPad operated by the pianist using a foot pedal similarly used with iPads supporting a digital part or it could be executed during the performance by a technician. The rental of the digital acoustic files includes a Key File license from Qlab that TheComposerStudio will email to be uploaded to a PC or Mac laptop computer for the duration of the rental. The uploaded software will ensure that the files are executed during a performance with ease and accuracy. The rental agreement also includes support from TheComposerStudio.Com, LLC from the time of rental through the performance of the piece. Duration: ca. 24 mins.
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