Uncanny Valley

In this program (a newly-commissioned concert-length piece by composer John Gibson), the piano performance of Oni Buchanan joins and reflects the spoken text of the poem “Uncanny Valley” as performed by its author, poet Jon Woodward. “Uncanny Valley” is a long serial poem in 16 sections, meant to be read out loud, with numerous optional repeats throughout the text. These repetitions act as accumulations of sound, maddening as well as hypnotic, and Gibson’s piece provides a sonic environment in which they can truly blossom. Although the pacing is determined by the two performers, the musical specificity of each section (from Morse code to sine waves to jazz to a brief quote of Schumann) reflects the poem text in ever-different ways. Digital samples triggered by the reader enmesh the piano and spoken text, haunting the music with echoes of itself. Extending outward from the phenomenon of “semantic satiation” (whereby a single word loses all apparent meaning and identity when repeated for even a short duration), this program investigates whether or not the same satiation is possible with phrases, sentences, pairs of verse lines, or musical forms.

In 1970, roboticist Masahiro Mori coined the term “uncanny valley” to describe the emotional and empathic chasm between humans and imperfect human simulacra, a gap created by their imperfection. This program searches out what is most uncanny, and most human, in both language and music.

Listen to some sample excerpts of the full piece:

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Video from the world premiere:

The River Project

In the fall of 2009, composer Eve Beglarian embarked on a four-month-long journey down the entire Mississippi River by kayak and bicycle, immersing herself in local histories and the writings of those who had made similar journeys, including Mark Twain and Jonathan Raban. During her trip through the heart of the country, Eve kept a sonic journal about the people and places she encountered. These journal entries have evolved over the past several years into the River Project: a collection of original compositions, adventurous arrangements of river-related songs, images, videos, and spoken-word readings.

Performances of The River Project are comprised of Eve Beglarian’s ensemble BRIM (Eve Beglarian, Mary Rowell of Ethel, Taylor Levine of Dither) and The Guidonian Hand trombone quartet. A musical snapshot of contemporary Americana, selections from the River Project have been performed at The Avant Music Festival, Bang On A Can Marathon, Tribeca New Music Festival, Studio 360, and more. Ariel Artists is excited to announce the availability of this special touring project for the 2013/2014 season and beyond.

“Ms. Beglarian kayaked and bicycled the length of the Mississippi River [and] has translated her findings into music of sophisticated rusticity… [Her] earnest new Americana song cycle captures those swift currents as vividly as Mark Twain did. The works waft gracefully on her handsome folk croon and varied folk instrumentation as mysterious as their inspiration.”
– The New York Times

Four Quartets: Variations

“Four Quartets: Variations,” revolving around T. S. Eliot’s inimitable sequence Four Quartets, is a theatrical, musical and poetic tour de force.  Moored by the performances of four vocalizing actors and four poets interacting with excerpted and remixed text of Eliot’s Four Quartets, the project also features byways into performance sets by the Bryant Park Quartet (string quartet) and The Guidonian Hand (trombone quartet), as well as guest artists Iktus Percussion Quartet, which expand the musical reaches and correspondences of the poem.  Emphasizing the profundity and structural revelations of Eliot’s book-length text, the actors and musicians surround the poets’ recitations with extended techniques of all varieties, from improbable instrumental sounds to extremes of vocal and improvisatory production, letting the text re-echo in time past, time present, and time future.  Fare forward, voyagers.

The quartet of actors are Marya Lowry, Phil Timberlake, Corianna Moffatt, and Nate Speare, while participating poets include Thalia Field, R. Dwayne Betts, Cathy Park Hong, Katie Ford, Major Jackson, Paige Ackerson-Kiely, Jon Woodward, and Oni Buchanan.

Grateful thanks to the following individuals for their support in producing this project:
Sponsors: Colleen Hovey and Chris Bator, Sirkku Kontinnen and Harri Kytömaa
Contributors: Robin Welte and Art Murray, Paula and Jack Barthel, David and Joella Hricik, Tom and Debbie Bross, Greta and Bob Ingraham, Jan Pechenik, Jaqueth Hutchinson

Machines

In “Machines,” The Guidonian Hand, Oni Buchanan, and Duo Orfeo perform in a triple-bill collaboration with kinetic sculptor Arthur Ganson whose works will be present on stage, in shadow, and in film.  Matching the delicate workings and profound absurdities of Ganson’s machines to their repertoire, the performers create an evening of uncanny correspondences and unexpected trajectories.  Boston-based Duo Orfeo performs their own transcriptions for classical and electric guitar with a breezy mix of warmth and precision, brought to light by their incredible performances of Reich, Satie, Poulenc, and the world premiere of their arrangements of the music of Arvo Pärt for electric guitar duo.  Concert pianist Oni Buchanan, also Boston-based, brings careful mastery to the work of contemporary New York composer Annie Gosfield, the piano-and-tape work of Mei-Fang Lin, and the post-tonal dissonant hybrids of Cindy Cox.  And the New York City trombone quartet Guidonian Hand presents the grand finale, showcasing stunning commissions from composers Eve Beglarian, Galen Brown, Michael Gordon, and Jeremy Howard Beck.