related works

Inzet : for carillon, 1994/1995 / Ron Ford

Genre: Chamber music
Subgenre: Carillon
Scoring: car

A crossing place : for mezzo-soprano and instrumental ensemble, 1989 / Frank de Munnik

Genre: Vocal music
Subgenre: Voice and large ensemble
Scoring: sopr-m 1121 1110 perc hp pf vl vla vc cb

Stap verder : for female voice, tapdancer and big band / Vanessa Lann; text by Emma Lazarus

Genre: Vocal music
Subgenre: Voice and large ensemble
Scoring: zang cl-b fg 2sax-a 2sax-t 5tpt 5trb tb 2perc pf tapdancer g-e g-b

Urban songs : soprano, large ensemble, computers / Klas Torstensson

Genre: Vocal music
Subgenre: Voice and large ensemble; Multimedia and singing voice(s) with or without instrument(s)
Scoring: sopr(synth) 2pic(fl) ob eh cl-b cl-cb fg(cfg) 2sax h 2trp trb tb 2perc g-b pf keyboard 2vl vla vc cb computers

composition

Inferno, I, 32 : for trio, ensemble and percussion, 1992 / text: Dante Alighieri, Jorge Luis Borges, Ron Ford

Other authors:
Borges, Jorge Luis (Text writer/Librettist)
Dante Alighieri (Text writer/Librettist)
Ford, Ron (Composer)
Description:
Program note (English): Inferno, I,32 is both the title of a parable by Jorge Luis Borges as an allusion to lines in Dante's poem which Borges uses as a departure point for his work. The composition Inferno, I, 32 is both the vocal and instrumental 'telling' of Borges story. In this work I have strived for a parallel with the classical art of storytelling, whereby the narrator not only retells the events of the story, but uses his keen sense for timing, tempo and surprise, to allow the story to be 'recreated' before the audience. In order to achieve this feeling Inferno, I, 32 is written in three independent layers, each whith its own timing and concentration. These three groups are superimposed so that each new performance is different and unique. In this 'telling' of the story one can perhaps see the soprano as imprisoned behind staccato chords of the ensemble, which in turn is enclosed within the percussion. The first layer is the vocal group: a trio of soprano, viola and bandoneon. The soprano
sings Borge's story, which consists of two parts, the first about an imprisoned leopard, the second about Dante at the end of his life. The seconf group is formed by the tutti instrumental ensemble of 13 players. The instrumental 'telling' of the story contains certain parallels with that of the vocal group, but eventually takes its own direction. The third group, which is not continuously present during the piece, is the percussionist. He accentuates the 2 part structure of the story by playing at the words '... for the machinery of the world is too complex...'. This phrase signals the end of both the first and second half of Borge's text. Trio, ensemble, and percussion play in different tempi, have their own individual rhythmic sense, and have moments where timing is variable. These groups can thus shift in relation to each other. This causes not only te unique tension in the piece, but also for each performance a new 'telling' of the same story. - RON FORD