In these taxing times, the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra presents The Fast and The Furies — a breathtaking pursuit of musical truth and consequences, from the dire straits of Michael Kimbell‘s evocations of death and desire in Chaconne after Purcell’s “When I Am Laid in Earth” to Davide Verotta’s brilliant and furious Sinfonietta. In virtuosic realms, Phil Freihofner will offer his Duet for Oboe and Bassoon, in counterpoint to Anton Webern’s seminal Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op.10. Of a more demonstrative nature will be a revival of
Michael Cooke‘s Open Ended, where chance processes lead to phenomenal ends, while Mark Alburger channels the connections between medieval and modern in ROMAN DE FAVVEL: The Horse-Ass Novel, which simultaneously evokes the 14th-century “Babylon Captivity” and a certain non-statesman in contemporary Washington, D.C.
Program:
Mark Alburger – ROMAN DE FAVVEL, Op. 276
John Beeman – Introduction & Dance
Michael Cooke – Open Ended (composed live in front of your eyes (and ears))
Philip Freihofner – Duet for Oboe and Bassoon
Michael Kimbell – Chaconne after Purcell’s “When I Am Laid in Earth”
Davide Verotta – Sinfonietta
Anton Webern – Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 10
Cost: $25 – general admission, sliding scale available
Videos featuring musicians playing at this event
Open Ended by Michael Cooke is a very versatile work that is composed live before your eyes and ears. Based on Rova‘s Radar techniques, Open Ended is less of a composition and more of a color or tool palette. It is an ever-growing collection of rules and games for the performers that are triggered by hand signals by the conductor/composer. The conductor/composer then composes the piece live using these hand signals to guide the performers. The ability to compose with what happens in the moment, in real time, is what is required to produce this piece. This similar to the “Soundpainting” language was created by Walter Thompson in Woodstock, New York in 1974. Open Ended has no set instrumentation and can be played by any number of performers. It also has no set length; the piece could last 5 minutes or 24 hours.