Construction After Mehretu

Type
Piece
Composer
Amy Golden
Composer Nationality
American
Text
Drawn, in small pieces, from various books and articles about Mehretu and her work.
Year Composed
2016
Pages
9
Minutes
8
Language
English; Wordless
Voicing
8 part mixed chorus
Instruments
Cellophane (per singer)
Sacred or Secular
Secular
Mood
Sparse, distant, minimal; Tense, with some edge
Description

Construction is not a "translation" of any one of Mehretu's works, but rather an attempt to utilize the visual language she has developed. In this piece, the content is pre-determined and the large-scale structure established by the composer, but the ordering, combination, and treatment of that content, those building blocks, are largely determined by the singers and conductor. The goal is a sort of auditory, multi-layered mobile set in motion by the place, time, and ensemble makeup involved in any given performance. I hope to explore the myriad relationships and structures (and the resultant implications) possible inside a closed environment with a specific and limited vocabulary.

Audio Credit
Umberto Belfiore, video and recording
Group
C3LA
Performances
C3LA: Feb 2018 (Words Like Blades)