I’ve suddenly found myself with two commissions for works that I need to complete over the summer – one work for the Byrne:Kozar:Duo and one for the Portland Percussion Group. The creative concepts I have for both involve using text as a vehicle for the works, but how I use and evolve the text in each piece are contrasting enough that I thought it would be a good exercise to talk about them conceptually.
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The Protector (2018)
One of the more important creeds when writing time-based art (music, marching drill, film) is that making big moments is easy – it’s the transitions that are hard. Ultimately this is what made me decide after only two and a half episodes in to abandon this random Turkish Netflix superhero show, at least for the moment.
If I had to label the look and feel of the show…composing for voice
In the past month or so I’ve been to two contemporary music concerts that featured duets consisting of instrument and voice – one that was trumpet and voice, one that was bassoon and voice.
I haven’t written for a lot of voice nor listened to a lot of contemporary music that features voice, but it struck me how the inclusion of voice sets up an expectation of hierarchy – the voice is usually the dominant force…
