ark luggage (2012) 9'

program note

In 2005 I did a project with the English artist and filmmaker Peter Greenaway, called writing on water. It was a kind of circus, with live calligraphy, live multi-screen video and film projection on four screens that surrounded the stage, and the London Sinfonietta. I enjoyed it a lot. What I enjoyed the most, however, was the beautiful libretto that Peter had crafted out of fragmentary descriptions of sea travel and shipwrecks from The Tempest, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and Moby Dick. This text was so moving to me that I asked Peter if he would write me another one, this time possibly on a religious subject, or at least somehow related to an old testament theme. ark luggage was the text he sent me, a list of 92 things Noah took along with him during the flood. The way I interpreted this text was to notice how Peter shows the confidence Noah has in packing for his life after the flood, confident about his survival past the catastrophe. The act of packing these suitcases itself becomes a statement of faith, and a simple list becomes a kind of prayer. ark luggage was commissioned by Glasgow Concert Halls and was written for Else Torp and the Smith Quartet, who premiered it 24 March 2012, in Glasgow, Scotland. The music is dedicated to Else Torp.

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