In mid-September to mid-October 2012 I took part in a residency hosted by the New York Foundation for the Arts, pairing me with the very inspiring Ekmeles vocal ensemble. We worked together for a month testing ideas and techniques that led to a concert-form presentation in Brooklyn organized by Issue Project Room. The outcome of this residency was a collection of 7 short love pieces on various texts (Andriana Minou, internet blogs, etc.), under the general title Ignored Manuals. The collection has been written for 5 voices (soprano, 2 mezzos, 2 barytones), with every piece using a different combination of voices, varying from solo to tutti. In 2013 Ekmeles invited me to make a revision for 6 voices.
The basic goal of the residency, called NYFA’s First International Composers Exchange, was to introduce artists coming from abroad to the artistic scene of New York. Due to the organizational skills of Sasha Zamler-Carhart I had the wonderful opportunity to live in downtown Manhattan attending various concerts ,from jazz clubs to the Lincoln Center, and being in contact with musicians of different backgrounds and genres. A very important experience of the residency was the acquaintance with the New York contemporary music scene and the way it organises itself business-wise.
Ignored Manuals
1. Sisters – Text by Andriana Minou
2. Lament – Text by Jacques Prévert
3. The breast – Text by Russel Edson
4. Getting un-used – Text by Andriana Minou
5. Falling for – Text from an internet forum
6. The bird – Text by Rumi
7. Love is blind – Text by Andriana Minou
Ekmeles:premiered the work with Mary Mackenzie, Amirtha Kidambi, Rachel Calloway, Jeff Gavett and Avery Griffin.
Love is blind
Now that you’re blind
You can fall in love
This fog that smells like phthisical apricots
Will be clenching your heart so sweetly
Out on the streets
Everyone’s pace is shamelessly slow
Their words are slow, their breath is slow, their tears are slow
But even slower are their dreams
So that they take the time to touch
All
Their potential lovers
So that every gloomy cell of theirs
Takes the time
To be illuminated
By its own blindness