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“…as it flies…”

acousmatic work

John Palmer

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acousmatic work

Composer John Palmer
Year of Composition 2001
Duration 13' 10"
Instrumentation Electronics
Categories (all composers)
Catalogue ID ce-jp1aif1

Notes

This is an electronic piece designed for acousmatic diffusion. If you are interested in performing this work, please contact us.

Over the past 20 years I have become increasingly receptive to the mystery of the elusive, the intangible… a distinct perception of the ineffable as experienced in my daily life. “…as it flies…” is by no coincidence my first work for tape, a musical medium which provides a most direct access to the world of imagination. The sound sources I have used are words extracted from a poem called Eternity by the English poet and painter William Blake (1757-1827). All the sounds heard in this work derive from a female – spoken – voice reciting the Blake’s poem.

The complete text of the poem is the following:

He who binds to himself a joy
does the wing d life destroy
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
lives in Eternity’s sunrise

The text has been explored in three ways:

i) in its entirety (each line of the poem taken as a recitation module and a syntactic-rhythmic unit);

ii) as single, ‘extracted’, words (each word being explored as a specific sound object per se);

iii) as individual micro-sounds (i.e. phonemes, vowels and consonants, including the breathing of the speaker).

“…as it flies…” was commissioned by the Electronic Music Foundation, New York, and premiered at Engine 27 Sound Gallery, 173 Franklin St., New York City, on 6th-9th February 2001. The composer wishes to acknowledge Marianne Hall for the recording of the Blake’s poem and all the vocal sources, David Mason for helping in the crucial stage of the tape production and Jody Elff at Engine27, New York City, for his enthusiastic assistance in the final realisation of the 8-channel version in February 2001.

“…as it flies…” is dedicated to Luc and Brunhild Ferrari.