babykorg1

for cello & prepared bow (2017)

commissioned by 凌元耕 Ernest Ling.

"there are heraldic worlds of spiritual and emotional aristocracy which have nothing to do with conventional morality, which give to certain acts a quality of noblesse oblige, a faithfulness to the highest capacities of a personality, a sort of life on the altitudes, a devotion to the idealized self. the artists who had overthrown conventions submitted to this code and knew the sadness and guilt which came from any failing in this voluntary standard. all of them suffered at times from a guilt resembling the guilt of the religious, the moralists, the bourgeois, while apparently living in opposition to them. it was the incurable guilt of the idealist seeking to reach an image of one's self one could be proud of.
...
this indestructible good self, this false and wearying good self who answered prayers... it will break your heart, Djuna of the fracturable heart, your heart will fracture with a sound of wind chimes and the pieces will be iridescent. where they fall new plants will grow instantly and it is to the advantage of a new crop of breakable hearts that yours should fracture often, for the artist is like the religious man, he believes that denial of worldly possessions, pain, and trouble will bring not sainthood but art, will give birth to the marvelous."

— Anaïs Nin, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳-𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵



this work focuses on aspects of cello playing involving the bow in a literal, bowing, sense. it seeks to elevate the act of bowing from a motion affiliated with producing the sound of bowed strings to a visual element bearing musical determinacy, and to orient itself around a choreographed beam and the altered ergonomics of the prepared bow in order to achieve its aural result.

affixed to the bow are two 120mW 532nm battery-powered lasers, mounted diametrically opposite each other. cable ties, vinyl electric tape, and a drumstick are used to secure them and hold the switches in the on positions, so that they both point outwards and create a continuous beam. the performance is in darkness with a UVA lamp for the score, and the audience is seated only in front, out of range of the lasers.

the load of this work was prompted by a roughly 10-day insomnia episode I sustained in late December 2016. a pinnacle few hours of dissociation and mania were followed by several days of reflection without contact, during which the idea for the piece took shape. after sketches in the following weeks, we began building and testing the laser bow.

premiered by 凌元耕 Ernest Ling at Slosberg Recital Hall 2017-05-08
James Praznik — recording engineer

altitude atonement

david stiefel

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