How did this idea of writing a companion piece first come about, and how was Dallapiccola's Piccola Musica Notturna chosen as the basis for it?
It was actually Steven Schick's idea. At first, I was asked to write a short trio with instrumentation of my choice. I asked if I could have more instruments and so he almost tripled it in size and asked me to create a companion piece to Dallapiccola's work, which was already scheduled for the program. I'm really glad that this was presented to me because it has become an opportunity for my compositional processes to go in directions not usual in my work.
What aspects of Dallapiccola’s piece were most intriguing to you during this project?
I began with the Antonio Machado poem he offers as a prelude of sorts in his score. I found a poem with a similar title by Machado, "Una Noche de Verano," and it begins similarly, however this poem speaks of the death of his young wife. This time the balcony door rather than the shutters is open, as in the first poem, and this time, death enters. The first poem, attached to Dallapiccola's work, is evocative of an empty village at night. One imagines the play of light and shadows and the weight of isolation and absence. In the second poem, we are perhaps in the same village, with the same subject, and the same summer night. But we get to know more, see more and experience the absence and solitude of death. With these texts, I went back to the music and decided to work with this idea of absence. Night as death. I thought my interpretation of 'night music' would follow this kind of darkness. I wanted my work to be intimately connected to his and so took the silences in his work as opportunities of expression in my work. Since the Dallapiccola will be played directly before mine, I imagine the sound image of his work bleeding into mine. I bring into the work other ghosts besides his: Bartok's night music and an elegy by Busoni.
How was your approach to composing paralipomena influenced by the fact that SFCMP will give the first performance? What is significant to you about premiering a piece here in the Bay Area?
I think its wonderful to be working in my own community. Since I arrived in the Bay Area five years ago, I've been attending SFCMP's concerts and never actually thought I would be given a commission by them! I have gotten to know some of its members and appreciate the dedication to new music that they have. One always feels trepidation working with new musicians, but I feel rather comfortable because I do know many of them and their openness to experimentation. Therefore I felt free to write whatever I wanted to.
Unlike Dallapiccola’s original piece, yours includes a variety of extended techniques for each instrument. Has your approach to using these techniques changed over time? Are there any compositional elements in paralipomena that you’ve never used before?
I suppose I don't consider them extended techniques anymore, in a way they've become rather standard, don't you think? Anyhow, I know what you mean. They're not making necessarily 'beautiful' noises. There are certain sounds that I gravitate to and have developed very basic graphical kinds of notations for them. Usually it's not until I meet with the musicians that I can actually clarify what it is that I hear. This obviously only works when I know that I will have time and the opportunity to even work with them. I'm sure my notation would change otherwise. There's also this question of over-notating. I feel like I can get the result that I desire by actually slightly under-notating a sound that is unpredictable in nature. As a performer myself, I enjoy the opportunity to interpret more open material.
In this piece, I've never written for harp before. It's a great way to have to learn an instrument, although I still have much to learn about it. Sometimes, one's limitations can actually lead to something really interesting. Well, possibly, I'm hoping this is the case with my harp writing.
In terms of compositional elements, the assignment to write a companion piece has really given me the priority to spend much more time researching and analyzing other music in preparation and to imagine what is a "companion piece"? I was grounded in a way that normally doesn't happen in a more freely conceived work. With this grounding, I found that I could allow some other voices to find their way into my piece. I've also never worked with form in this way before and it provided some very interesting challenges. Overall I hope it's a piece that does not or can not only function as a companion piece, but something that has created its own space, too.
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SFCMP will perform the world premiere of paralipomena, together with the chamber ensemble version of Dallapiccola's Piccola Musica Notturna, on Monday, February 27 as part of Zone 3: inscription.
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