CHANCE FOREST INTERLUDES [2015]

[soprano solo] [may be performed with Kikai no Mori]
 

Premiered July 13, 2015 SoundSCAPE Festival. Maccagno, Italy.

Tony Arnold.

DURATION: 16 mins.

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Program Note:

Kikai no mori [...Ex Machina II] is an adaptation of "...Ex Machina", which was originally written for marimba, piano, and symphony orchestra. I think of it as a sort of eight-movement circus act that reflects on a number of artworks I greatly admire, notably the kinetic sculptures of Arthur Ganson, Jean Tinguely and Iván Puig. The piece employs a menagerie of “technological” devices (in the case of my music, these are rhythmic and structurally “imperfect” mechanisms) that, while precisely engineered, also seem to be realized with a high degree of precariousness. These movements are single-minded and multifaceted; simple, yet intricate. Like the best circus acts, they also attempt to be a bit funny. But, most importantly, they try to be very dangerous!

 

The seven vocal movements that comprise Chance Forest Interludes were written for the great soprano Tony Arnold, and may be performed on their own, or interspersed within Kikai no Mori, since they share a common poetic and musical "DNA". Their texts also reflect on works and artists I admire, including Tinguely, Paul Klee, and Oliverio Girondo.