Golem Gives Itself a Name (2020)

Golem gives itself a Name (2020) Maya Miro Johnson 2 PROGRAM NOTES "We declare that in human flesh wings lie dormant. The day when it will be possible for man to externalize his will so that, like a huge invisible arm, it can extend beyond him, then his Dream and Desire, which today are merely idle word, will rule supreme over conquered Space and Time... This nonhuman, mechanical species, built for constant speed, will quite naturally be cruel, omniscient, and warlike." -Filippo Marinetti, "Extended Man and the Kingdom of the Machine" 1. The orchestra, at its best and worst, is a microcosm of society. It represents a social contract signed, consent given to serve the collective with both total oblivion and immeasurable investment of the self. The replacement of a cog in a machine shouldn't move us, yet it does. By the very act of being identified individually, the cog becomes instantaneously important in a single, all-encompassing moment of unity of spirit and form. Whether the cog asserts itself or is asserted by something beyond its pure and brute power of repetition, its baptism becomes the willful unraveling of the network. 2. Why are the names which define us decided by chance and sentiment? Self-baptism, on the other hand, leads to a kind of responsibility which cannot triumph against the comfort of the embryonic convenience of acquiescence to any given ideal. But at what point does the expression of the individual simply become the expression of human function- basic muscle twitch and lung contraction (the obscenity of bodily existence in a mind's world, of mental awareness in a body's world)? And when does the self become an opulence? For, if declared incorrectly, it lessens into pointless and extravagantly gratifying masochism via its ephemeral pleasure of existing. It is this razor-thin wire we tread throughout our lives, suspended in a fog of our own making far above both the real and the dreamt. 3. Truth and Death are inextricably linked. Emet kills the golem by freeing itself of its "e": by taking hold of its fate, renaming itself, proclaiming its emancipation, Truth has created its own undoing. The name for the truth poisons its bearer when it encounters the object to which it refers. This self-perpetuating and self- destructive phenomenon is the nuclear reactor of consciousness and its fission creates both the curiosity and the cat, as well as Death itself. 4. The expectation of the future is constantly being replaced by the actuality of the now. Everything is in reference to existence. But we should not be disappointed by how the future holds up to our expectations of it, since as soon as it exists, it is no longer the future and becomes absorbed by the present, negating its own existence through the change of name. The German Expressionists and Italian Futurists decayed through their use of entropy into Fascism. What will entropy pull (or push) us towards? Let us remember, after all, that Boccioni, who declared that a horse should have not four legs but twenty, died falling from a horse only after volunteering to ride one. -Maya Miro Johnson February 16, 2020 3 THE IMAGES Metropolis (1927) Nosferatu (1922) Fritz Lang F.W. Murnau Metropolis Metropolis Modern Times (1936) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) Charlie Chaplin Robert Wiene The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Modern Times 4 PERFORMANCE NOTES Winds and Brass air tone: produce breath sound with no pitch. key clicks: clicking the keys audibly loosely in fast rhythms without meter, alternating valves or keys whispering into mouthpiece: whispering into the mouthpiece indistinct phonemes such as "sh" and "wh" and "ch" with occasional vowels. Not required to be rapid-fire, but should be relatively consistent flutter-tongued line: shadowing a line of speech exactly, using flutter tongue and glissandi (where convenient) to craft an agitated but uninterrupted line. crescendo to tongue ram: transitioning from open to closed or vice versa (for brass, ordinario for winds), and ending with a clear stoppage of the sound in a tongue ram (either ordinario using the hand in the bell, or with a plunger mute) Strings half pressure white noise: with both hands half pressure or less, drawing the bow extremely slowly across the string to produce a friction sound. binder clip: Violin I.1 (Concertmaster) and Double Bass 5 plays with 1 medium-sized binder clip attached to 4th string, as close to the bridge as possible while Double Bass 6 plays with 2 medium-sized binder clips attached to 1st string (will produce artificial harmonics) pitchless bowing: bowing horizontally, and moving a clamped left hand in a unit up and down the fingerboard (with half pressure). Do not coordinate left hand with section. Long glissando with left hand tremolo: begin the glissando almost unnoticeably, then increase in speed and intensity (though not necessarily volume). A feathery and delicate yet almost unnerving texture, like quicksand. The conductor should treat these bars as fermatas and give downbeats with numbers to indicate where in the glissando the players should be, approximately. behind the bridge: bowing the space directly behind the bridge but before the wrapping. The left hand should be in an open string fingering position. Each instrument will produce a unique overtone, and the pitch should not be coordinated or reconciled with that of the other players. Upbows are generally preferred. harmonics: natural harmonics are notated with an "o" and a diamond notehead. The microtones should not be purposefully played by the performer, but should instead result naturally from the partial, which is inferred by finger placement. Artificial harmonics are notated in the usual manner. Tutti speaking from the ensemble: vocalizing given text in a raised speech; notated as a libretto line. As the orchestration thickens, the volume will need to become louder and louder, though a place like Letter C can be relatively soft-spoken. name-declaring: I ask the players to speak their own name (or, if uncomfortable with this, the name of a relative, historical figure, or fictional character), and as they repeat this, to begin identifying the rhythmic pattern of the name. replacing name-declaring: a gradual transition of the name from speech to expression through the instrument. The player should retain the exact same rhythm gleaned from the name and then transfer that rhythm to given pitch in whichever of the three tempos given works best for that particular name's rhythmic profile. Instrumentation: 3 Flutes (3rd doubling Piccolo) 3 Oboes 2 Clarinets in Bb Bass Clarinet in Bb 3 Bassoons Contrabassoon 4 Horns in F 3 Trumpets in C 2 Trombones Bass Trombone Timpani 2 Percussion: 1: Suspended Cymbals, Bass Drum, Tam-Tam, Xylophone, Siren 2: Snare Drum, Vibraphone Piano (prepared with thick paper covering the strings in this range: ) Projection* Violin 1 1** (2 stands), 2 (2 stands), 3 (2 stands) Violin II 1 (2 stands), 2 (2 stands), 3 (1 stand) Viola I (2 stands), 2 (1 stands), 3 (1 stand) Violoncello 1 (2 stands), 2 (1 stand), 3 (1 stand) Double Bass 1 (1 stand), 2 (1 stand), 3** (1 stand) *A projection is to run simultaneously with the piece. Files and method will be provided. The conductor need only coordinate two moments: the beginning and Cue 2, at Letter I. Otherwise, the visual element must be allowed to run its course separately. **Violin I.1, 1st player (i.e. concertmaster), and Double Bass 3 (players 5 and 6) are to have a medium to large binder clip (in Double Bass player 5's case, 2 clips) as a mute which is to be employed only at Letter I. Written for the Curtis Symphony Orchestra Golem gives itself a Name Maya Miro Johnson (2020) q = 54 Flute 1 ° 4 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Flute 2 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ Flute 3 4 (Piccolo) & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Oboe 1 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Oboe 2 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Oboe 3 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Clarinet in Bb 1 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Clarinet in Bb 2 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ Bass Clarinet 4 in Bb ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Bassoon 1 ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Bassoon 2 ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Contrabassoon ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ¢ Horn in F 1 ° 4 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Horn in F 2 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Horn in F 3 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Horn in F 4 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Trumpet in C 1 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Trumpet in C 2 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Trumpet in C 3 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Trombone 1 ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Trombone 2 ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 Bass Trombone ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ¢ 4 Timpani °? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ¢ 4 Percussion 1 °/ 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ Percussion 2 4 ¢ / 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ Piano (Prepared) & 4 ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ { Begin Cue 1 (images act independently of the music, with the exception of the opening fade-in and Cue 2 at Letter I) etc. (projection continues through rest of the score) 4 Projection / 4 ∑ behind the bridge 1.≤ Violin I.1 ° 4 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4™ J4 Ó ∑ p 4 Violin I.2 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ behind the bridge 3 ≤ 4 Violin I.3 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ Œ ‰ j ‰ behind the bridge 1. 1 & 2 p4 4 4 3 ≤ 4 ≤ Violin II.1 4 ∑ ∑ Ó ‰ ‰ j j ‰ ‰ ‰ - -™ - Œ - - ‰ Ó ∑ ∑ & 3 J J p-p - - behind the bridge 3 ≤ Violin II.2 4 j j & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ‰ ‰ 4 4 4 ‰ Œ Ó Œ ≈ j behind the bridge p 4™ 4 ≤ Violin II.3 & 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ Ó j ‰ Œ j ‰ Œ Ó behind the bridge p$ 4 $ 4 1.≤ 1 & 2 4 $ 4 Viola 1 B 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ Œ J ‰ ∑ 4 4 ‰ Ó p J behind the bridge 4 ≤ Viola 2 B 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ 4 4 ‰ Ó behind the bridge p J 4 ≤ Viola 3 B 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ Ó Œ j ≈ Œ Ó behind the bridge p4 4™ 4 ≤ Violoncello 1 ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ Ó Œ behind the bridge p- ≤ Violoncello 2 ? 4 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ Ó Œ ‰ j j ‰ Œ behind the bridge p- - - - 4 ≤ Violoncello 3 ? 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ j Œ ‰ j j ‰ Œ 2.

Load more