composer
Ronald Ford was born September 29, 1959 in Kansas City, U.S.A. He moved to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1983.
Education: Ford studied composition, piano and computer engineering at the Duke University ...
related works
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Vocal Ensemble (2-12) and instrument(s)
Scoring:
4bar 2sax-t 2trb 2cb
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Speak Voice and large ensemble
Scoring:
recit fl ob cl fg h perc 2vl vla vc cb
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Speak Voice and large ensemble
Scoring:
recit fl-a eh cl-a cl-b fg 2pf 2vl vla 2vc cb
Multa non multum / Hans Koolmees
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Speak Voice and large ensemble
Scoring:
recit
composition
Salomé fast : for ensemble and reciting voice, 1996 / text: Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Aramaeic version, Ron Ford
Description:
Program note (English): Text-too long, dramatically weak, based on text which is totally incomprehensible: what else could it be but opera? Still I am fascinated by the dramatic stories that lay the foundations for these mega-art works. I got the idea to use the libretti of several key operas as frames for music pieces with a dramatic but non-operatic character. Salomé fast is based not on Strauss' opera, but on its libretto. Richard Strauss' inspiration was the theatre version by Oscar Wilde, who in turn was inspired by the Bible. In Salomé fast one moves one step further towards the source, in that the story of Salomé form the Bible is recited in Aramaic, the spoken language from that time. Thus in Salomé fast, the story is pulled both into the future and backwards in time to its most original form. The libretto was translated into English and ruthlessly reduced to the absolutely necessary minimum of text. This version (just a couple of pages) was used as a strict frame for composing the
instrumental music. Melodic length, shape, instrumentation and form were derived from this - otherwise unheard - shadow libretto. The speed with which one is whipped through this material gives the piece a bugs bunny cartoon-like character. - RON FORD