w16746
| Title | Doll with Two Backs, The - prelude |
| Contributors |
Derek Ball (composer) Maurice Harmon (author) |
| Composition date | |
| Duration (mins) | 40 |
| Category | accompanied vocal |
| Instrumentation | 4 Spkrs / Recorded Elec-acc soundtrack |
| Commissioned by | |
| Key signature | |
| First line | |
| First performed | |
| Notes | |
| Programme Note | 'The Doll with Two Backs' is a long poem by Irish poet Maurice Harmon. It consists of two sections of unequal length, a shorter 'Prelude' dealing with Native American myth and the 19th century history of European settlement of Native American tribal lands, and a longer section called 'Broken Lights, Broken Lances' dramatising the relationship between the present-day native American and the incomer. This piece is a treatment of the 'Prelude', using live speakers and a recorded electroacoustic soundtrack by Irish composer Derek Ball. When we started discussion the possibility of a collaboration, foremost in our mind was the terrible danger of mixing words and music. Sometimes it works, but sometimes the combination can actually be less, not more, than the sum of the parts : in particular, music can detract from the meaning of words by its distracting stylised emotionalism! Our solution on this occasion was to alternate the two media, with hardly any overlap. The words begin and end the piece. At natural pauses in the text the music enters, commenting on what has just happened and anticipating what is coming. |
This work is associated with the following collection items:
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