imaginary aphorisms (2012)
Painting by Alissa Rupp
Theremin and Live-Electronics
Premiere: April 2013, Cornish Music Series, PONCHO Concert Hall, Seattle.
PROGRAM NOTES
Imaginary Aphorisms (2012)
Theremin and Computer
1. No matter how high the bird flies, the brick always breaks the window.
2. The future is never as bright as it will be tomorrow.
3. One too many floods is never enough.
These three short works for theremin and computer are based on three imaginary aphorisms that, like most aphorisms, may or may not be truthful. There is a sense of wonder in the power of aphorisms to convey truth, or a sense of truth, even when they might not be absolutely true: “A watched pot never boils,” for instance. But the art of an aphorism is to convince us of its veracity through its very pithiness, without focusing our attention on its actual meaning.