sudden gusts of tortured poignance

Program Notes

sudden gusts of tortured poignance takes its title from the concluding monologue of James Robert Baker’s shot-on-video feature from 1984, Blonde Death . I was struck by this line, in how it speaks to the ways that emotions function, the shivering of inexpressible, unnameable phantoms which congeals within us into feeling, and if we are lucky enough, to leap into expression. The piece uses the main motive from the score of the film, by G.F. Watkins, as its basis. I am also referencing VHS mediums with sonic noise, using the cello to simulate the wavering oscillations of corroded tape. Sonic materials attempt to escape into recognizability over the course of the piece, with varying levels of success.

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