CAT# (YEAR COMPOSED): 76 (2007)
INSTRUMENTATION: for solo voice and two speaking female voices
PAGES: 4
DURATION (APPROX): 12
PUBLICATION:
PREMIERE PERFORMANCE: Merdan Kadyrov solo; Poppy Brewer and Aden Eike, spoken voices_ The Voices of Voice_St. Paul’s Cathedral in Dundee, Scotland_July 07

NOTE
DRAFT 1/25/2002 is experimental music theater that is focused on the abuse of political power. Specifically this piece focuses on the justification for the inhumane treatment of prisoners in the Iraq war, authored by A.G. Alberto Gonzalez and given to POTUS George Bush II in the so-called “Torture Memo” of January 25, 2002.
The text of Gonzalez is intoned by two women speaking portions of the text as slightly-odd news broadcasters of the mainstream media type, while the central focus of the piece is on a vocal soloist, who through the extensive use of extended (extra-normal) vocal techniques, portrays the sounds and emotions of captivity and torture.

Edgerton Portrait

#76. DRAFT 1/25/2002_4m24-5m44. Performed by Kadyrov, Brewer and Eike

Michael Edgerton is an active composer with performances around the world. His compositions have received international prizes and recognition including the important German award, the Kompositionspreis der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart for his composition the Tempo Mental Rap, a series of six variations for guitar based upon a Steve Vai transcription of a Frank Zappa rap. Michael’s compositions utilize a broad range of musical influences such as European avant-garde, American experimentalism, progressive rock and world music. Since the mid-90s Michael’s compositions have been informed by scientific models and metaphors. Initially stemming from his studies with voice science and dynamical systems, he’s built a body of work that explores the integration of nonlinear concepts applied to sound production and compositional constraints. While the methods and systems he develops are often influenced by science, it is his intuition – his ear that gives birth to the music.

Michael is currently working as Professor of Artistic Research at Lund University/the Malmö Academy of Music in Sweden.

#76. DRAFT 1/25/2002_4m24-5m44. Performed by Kadyrov, Brewer and Eike

Michael Edward Edgerton, composition 2001-2018