related works
Bass Trombone Concerto : for bass trombone and orchestra / Edward Top
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Trombone and orchestra
Scoring:
trb-b-solo 2fl 2ob 2cl 2fg 4h 2trp trb timp perc pf str
St. Louis Blues - Suite : 1995/1999 / libretto by Paul Binnerts, Chiel Meijering
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Vocal ensemble (2-12) and large ensemble
Scoring:
sopr ten 2010 2sax 1121 perc el.g g-b pf
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Vocal ensemble (2-12) and large ensemble
Scoring:
ten bar bas 4444 4441 3perc vibr(xyl) hp pf(cel) 8cb
O, gij, rhinoceros : voor vier vocalisten en instrumentaal ensemble, 1977 / Otto Ketting
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Vocal ensemble (2-12) and large ensemble
Scoring:
sopr sopr-m ten bar 1111 0100 perc pf 2vl vla vc cb
composition
The overwhelming blankness of the ultimate meaninglessness of tragedy : for 2 ensembles, soprano and actor, 1995-1996 / words: Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Amnesty International, Edward Top
Other authors:
Borges, Jorge Luis
(Text writer/Librettist)
Paz, Octavio
(Text writer/Librettist)
Top, Edward
(Composer)
Description:
Program note (English): The point of departure of this work is a duality based on the 'Dea'h and Disaster' series of silscreen prints by Andy Warhol, especially his "Blue Electric Chair'. Each painting in this serie consists of two panels, one with a representation of a "disaster" (a car accident or an electric chair for example) in one tint against a background colour, while the other panel consists of only this background colour. The contrast of this blank panel next to a shocking depiction leads to controversy: the overwhelming blankness of the ultimate meaninglessness of tragedy. Translated into music this duality is formed by the two ensembles, which each have their own characteristic sound. One has the character of a subdued, resigned esthetics (very soft and slow, orderly material: for example, every note has its own instrumentation and register from F below central C to three octaves higher, the soprano often sings not more than two widely spaced intervals, the instrumentation consists of soft
instruments, such as vibraphone, harp, some strings and woodwinds). The other ensemble characterizes disaster (everything very harsh, loud and complex, chromatic, erratic playing techniques such as clusters, flutter tonguing, scratching sounds, a lot of percussion, loud brass and squeeling woodwinds, violin and double bass). Similarly, the text may also be divided into this duality. The texts by Jorge Luis Borges and Octavio Paz, sung by the soprano, describe a vision of dying, in which hopefully a hint of the world to come is revealed. This forms a violent contrast to the text of the actor, which is a very direct description of what happens to someone being executed on the electric chair. - EDWARD TOP