Nine of Staves

for amplified chamber orchestra (Dogs of Desire):

Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in Bb, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Bassoon

French Horn in F, Trumpet in C, Trombone

Piano, Electric Bass (5 string), Drum Set

2 Sopranos

2 Violins, 1 Viola, 1 Cello

(Audio/video not publicly available at this time.)

Program Note:

Nine of Staves was written for the Albany Symphony's amplified chamber orchestra Dogs of Desire and conductor David Alan Miller for the 2014 American Music Festival. The piece premiered with choreography by Safi Harriott – in fact, the piece was shaped structurally around her choreography, which was well on its way to completion before I began composing. We struck up a cross-disciplinary dialogue: I would send Ms. Harriott sections of music, she would tweak her choreography to match those sections more closely, then I would further adjust the music to integrate her changes. At the beginning of the process, we both agreed that neither art form would be subservient to the other – both the music and the dance can stand on their own.

The title “Nine of Staves” was suggested by Ms. Harriott based on her interest in the Tarot, a mystical set of cards used for divination. Our jointly-written program note for the premiere was purposefully cryptic: “Nine of Staves inhabits worlds of hot grey earth and burning sand: badlands, prairies, deserts. Although beautiful, under the wrong circumstances these environments possess their own brutal gravity and possessiveness. The tarot card for which this piece is named implies embattlement with one's circumstances; exhaustion. However, the card also offers a glimmer of hope. Out on the horizon is a place of respite – an oasis or a homestead. The mazes of canyon and quicksand between here and there can be navigated, given enough grit and determination.”

I wrote the text for Nine of Staves in a new “language” I created for the piece. This decision was inspired by listening to music with lyrics in languages that I don't speak. The ensemble Kardeş Türküler, for example, performs songs in numerous West Asian languages such as Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian, and Laz. Another inspiration is Sigur Rós, whose songs are either in Icelandic or in “Vonlenska” (“Hopelandic”), which consists entirely of beautiful, made-up words that have the intent but not the conceptual content of language. Although I don't “understand” these languages in an intellectual sense, I certainly “feel” them and even “understand” them in an emotional sense. So, while the language of Nine of Staves does not have a dictionary of definitions, my hope is that it is full of emotion and abstract meaning.