related works
Red, white and blues : Dutch new blues pieces, for piano, volume 1
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Piano
Scoring:
pf
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and large ensemble
Scoring:
sopr-m 1111 1010 perc vibr(xyl) hp pf vc cb
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and large ensemble; Multimedia and singing voice(s) with or without instrument(s)
Scoring:
bas-bar 1020 1110 2perc hp cemb(cel pf) vl vla vc tape
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and large ensemble
Scoring:
sopr alt 2fl(picc) ob 2cl(cl-b) fg(fg-c) 2h trp trb tb 3perc cymb acc pf(harm) hp str
composition
Stap verder : for female voice, tapdancer and big band / Vanessa Lann; text by Emma Lazarus
Author(s):
Lazarus, Emma
(Text writer/Librettist)
Lann, Vanessa
(Composer)
Description:
The African hocket technique of ‘one player, one note’ was the
inspiration and structural basis for Stap verder. In the ensemble music of many African communities each instrument produces only one tone. Each musician is responsible for voicing that tone, and only that tone, using the unique sound and character of his or her instrument. This reflects how the role of the individual in these societies is perceived. The Ngumi proverb ‘Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’ means that an individual ‘exists’ only through contact with other persons in the community. Similarly, in this type of music (just as in Stap verder) a melody becomes discernible only when each player grows aware of the contribution of every other player. However simple, each person’s musical gesture is significant; without the participation of each member of the group, no music can happen.
Emma Lazarus’ immortal text (engraved on the Statue of Liberty in NY) – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…” – also mirrors the belief that a society cannot successfully exist without recognizing the voice of even the smallest individual.
Vanessa Lann (October 2016)