Urban Inventory
for chamber ensemble and electronics
(2015)
- Duration 10'
- Instrumentation Auto/Flute/Piccolo, Clarinet in B-flat/Clarinet in E-flat/Bass Clarinet, Piano/Electronic Keyboard (tuned a quarter-tone lower), Violin, Cello
- Commission Commissioned by Music at the Anthology (MATA)
- Premiere April 14th, 2015; The Kitchen, NYC; The Curious Chamber Players (Sweden)
-
Movements
1. city park
2. once upon a time, in another lifetime
3. (dream of the) red detachment
4. gifts of gab
5. two voices of the people
6. tell you softly - Publisher PSNY
Program Notes
When the evening air finally overtakes the smog at day’s end, a city’s exhausted population comes out for relief. Scenes of leisurely and nonchalant chatting, strolling, dancing, tai-chi, dog- and kid-walking. Sounds of broken instruments, mixed with songs of praise to western and eastern gods. Historical and recent memories creep back into consciousness: fantasies of early propagandist dance troupe goddesses, the unmistakably beguiling voice of a 90s pop icon (杨钰莹), a peasant rap sensation clamoring for a skateboard, the monotone of a rural poetess and her desire to escape her dreadful situation. And at dawn, these suddenly animated voices retreat back into the minds of those who will return to the lifelessness of their urban routine.
– Wang Lu
