Morton Subotnick; Donald Grantham
Liner Notes   Cat. No. NWCRL458     Release Date: 2011-04-15
Laurence Trott, piccolo; members of the Buffalo Philharmonic and Buffalo Creative Associates; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; University of Texas Chamber Singers; Morris J. Beachy, Conductor; William Rhodes, baritone; Wayne Barrington, horn; David Garvey, piano

Parallel Lines is one of Morton Subotnick's "ghost" pieces for live soloist and electronics. The ghost series is a unique method of blending electronics with live performances so that the effect of the electronics is not audible unless the performer is making a sound. The electronic ghost score is a digital control system which activates an amplifier, a frequency shifter, and a location device. These process the instrumental sound according to the plan of each composition. The ghost electronics were made possible by a Creative Arts grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, and were designed by Donald Buchla to the composer's specifications and constructed by John Payne at the California Institute of the Arts.

Donald Grantham writes:

"The seven poems of the Emily Dickinson Cycle range in mood from the whimsical and enigmatic (the two 'spider' songs) to the grim and foreboding ('One need not be a chamber to be haunted'). Unity is achieved by the use of arch form: numbers one and seven, two and six, three and five share musical material, while number four — the longest and most somber of the set — stands alone as the arch's keystone. It was my intent in this work to present as characteristic a picture of the poet's output as possible within a brief, self- contained musical work.

"La Noche En La Isla is drawn from Pablo Neruda's collection of brooding, erotic lyrics Los versos del Capitán, and is one of the longer and more dramatic of these poems. The song, like the poem, is a single long arch. It begins softly with quarter-tones and multiphonics in the horn, climaxes with all the performers in their extreme high registers, and ends quietly with horn and baritone in gentle counterpoint over a pedal-drone in the piano. This work was a co-winner of the International Horn Society's Composition Competition (1979). Reviewing the work for The Horn Call, Gayle Chesebro wrote that “. . . the music always reflects the text and exudes the romance of the poetry . . . There is a naturalness to the flow of the music and a unity that might cause one to wonder whether the music or the text was conceived first.”


This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.

Various Artists

Morton Subotnick; Donald Grantham

MP3/320 $13.00
FLAC $13.00
WAV $13.00
CD-R $13.00
CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print material or jewel case included.
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
   Liner Notes



Track Listing

Parallel Lines
Morton Subotnick
Buy
Seven Choral Settings of Poems by Emily Dickinson: I. Without a Smile - Without a Throe
Donald Grantham
Buy
Seven Choral Settings of Poems by Emily Dickinson: II. For each ecstatic instant
Donald Grantham
Buy
Seven Choral Settings of Poems by Emily Dickinson: III. A spider sewed at Night
Donald Grantham
Buy
Seven Choral Settings of Poems by Emily Dickinson: IV. One need not be a chamber to be haunted
Donald Grantham
Buy
Seven Choral Settings of Poems by Emily Dickinson: V. The Spider as an Artist
Donald Grantham
Buy
Seven Choral Settings of Poems by Emily Dickinson: VI. Father, I bring thee not myself
Donald Grantham
Buy
Seven Choral Settings of Poems by Emily Dickinson: VII. This is my letter to the world
Donald Grantham
Buy
La Noche En La Isla
Donald Grantham
Buy