DENSITY 2036: Part iii, 2015

Premier: The Kitchen, New York City

_______________________________

Flutist: Claire Chase

Live performance directed by: David Michalek

Sound engineering: Levy Lorenzo

Light Sculpture: David Michalek

Grid lighting: Nicolas Houfek

_______________________________

DENSITY 2036 is a 24-year project begun by Claire Chase in 2013 to commission a new body of repertory for solo flute each year until the 100th anniversary of Edgard Varese’s groundbreaking 1936 flute solo, Density 21.5. Chase will commission and  premier a new program of flute music every year until 2036. Each piece in the project will expand the boundaries of the instrument.  

For this third iteration of Density 2036, Claire and I continued to look for ways to breathe new life into the recital form and for filling a volume of space with not only with music and sounds, but also her bodily presence, choreographed movement, props, costumes and sculptural lighting design, as well as her relationship as a performing musician to the audience, both in terms of orientation and intimacy.

The light sculpture for this third iteration is based upon the shape of one of the stars of the show: a contrabass flute (which from a certain angle, can look like a number four —or a backward one), which Claire has named Bertha.

Props: ladder, shopping basket, skateboard, wooden box and sheet music

(the sheet music, which Claire never so much as glanced at, was taped to the walls and to the backs of chairs, as well as suspended from string, to indicate to those that could also read it — that Claire had memorized the ENTIRE musical program — and even in such a way that she could move around the stage and engage in choreographed, task-based physical theater. An astonishing achievement in an of itself).

_____________________________

DENSITY 2036: Part iii, 2015

Works performed:

Dai Fujikura, “Lila” for flute, bass flute, and contrabass flute (2015)

Francesca Varunelli, “The Famous Box Trick” for bass flute and electronics (2015)

Nathan Davis, “Limn” for bass flute, contrabass flute and electronics (2015)

Jason Eckhardt, “The Silenced” a monodrama for solo flute (2015)

Pauline Oliveros, “Intensity 20.15:Grace Chase for Claire and the Expanded Instrument System (EIS)” (2015)

Edgard Varese, “Density 21.5” for flute alone (1936)

__________________

Much of the fun of this third iteration of Density came in staging movement for Claire in relation to the text written by her grandmother, Grace Chase, which served as the libretto for Pauline Oliveros “Intensity 20.15)

GRACE CHASE TEXT SECTION 1

(The following three pre-recorded questions are played back as Claire walks into the audience…)

Somebody want to run somewhere?

What are the forces involved?

Where is it going?

(Claire is in the audience; she begins to speak the following text very fast, softly in a monotone but intelligible; no Expanded Instrument System [EIS] interaction...)

Garlin’s with its man the earphone sere-phom (surfin’… the sere triples daughter was a pro…at surfing up from the depths of the oceans of space in which these heads had been dropped and combined (in the sense of a farm machinery “combine” as one.) Tilling a soil-god was to produce a soiler…or spoi…a type of fish which over a long period of time would wring human flesh…in the cemetery and in the factory and office of so much of its products that the man would be reduced to something like a pygmy size; lillilputian, ERA-s PUTTING, a parasite on the stuff that was squeezed from him in such a away as to form two bodies…the body of the earth and the body of the man, through whom, one more fellow contrived to use the body of the man and the bodies in the dead earth as a PAIR O’ SIGHTS (the Paris site) through which he could look out into the wide beyond of his soiler system and spoiler system…and see many interesting things as they are, but more importantly, this ennabled the man to call it almost anyway he pleased…because of the “darkly” clause inherent in his pair O sights. To do that was to gain wide popularity to be terribly interesting to anything that had not imagined such brighter wonders gleaming afar…and to have continuing streams coming on to say “teach me” and to be willing to pay immense sums for what now becomes plain…

(slightly slower speech, slowing as it unfolds…EIS starts to interact…)

Black oil is sometimes called “black gold.” We Know (weinah) Gold is known to be the softest of metals…black is the softness “wrung” (laved) out of black rock which as rock goes is soft too.

(Claire’s speech becomes more normal, perhaps posing the question directly to the audience…)

How does it get that way? 

Through ages and ages of hardening through ages and ages of suffering (saffroning)…it will turn yellow by certain choices of which there are two kinds of yellow. The one yellow which turns to gold can be suffered on to black on by more suffering the oil is squeezed out as black and burnable fuel oil.

The other yellow seeking to live by certain ways and means is exploded (made dust) in the air. 

How exciting that sounds. (stand up…EIS picks up in speed)

Let’s start and go back, step by step by step. Find out how it’s done and go. (walk through audience onto the stage) Every man saying to himself in his heart…yes, and I STEP ON YOU…the airstep shoes.  

GRACE CHASE TEXT SECTION 2

(Claire makes a loop around the audience on stage as these questions are posed? EIS picks up further in texture/density…)

Somebody want to run somewhere? 

What is it opposing? 

What are the forces involved? 

Where is it going? 

Why? 

What are you against?

(transition to “game” – as soon as there are enough sounds in the EIS to play with…Claire vamps and repeats the questions until then…)

The PURPLE PAMPER POMPOUS, BECOMES A VERY POMPOUS PUCCI. 

TALK-SIC, TOCSIC, TOCK-SICK. A TOCKTICK, CLOCKTICK. OLD ADELWEISS IS ATOLL TICK*TALK*TIC

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I DID HUS AND SO AS A CHILD, AND NOW, I HAVE PUT AWAY MY IDOL THOOD, AND TAKEN UP A LOAD OF CHILD* LIKE THINGS!” 

GRACE CHASE TEXT SECTION 3: (THE GAME)

(Claire repeats the following text, which she varies and also ad libs with EIS…)

Gael-lic

Gaul=ic

Gall-lic

Jol-lic

Jawlc

Galley-lic

Gully-lic

Jully

Guy-lic, Golic, Eye-lic, 

Onto infinitessimo 

(the text below punctuates the “game stations” to be spoken during the run/walk/scoot from station to station [make use of shopping basket, skateboard] lots of repetition, texture builds into a flurry as words are obscured…overall shape of this section is one massive crescendo…)

 Kerchee

Is a way of sneezing that only begins with the numbers of ways that have been named above, called F-ringe or F-ranch, sometimes C-ringe, or Wrench as a matter of rinsing, all under the name of a famous opera star, probably Italian.

When given as a ker-choo, it is a railroading more powerful than a trolley.

When given as a ker-chief, it is a very wicked Burger (white) and Barger (red) and Boogher (black) and Yallow…sallow Pimpernal, in opposition to the SHALLOW SAL*O of the SCARLET PIMPERNAL

And the ghost of “ACHINESE “is even more than the “PIMPLEAKA” (people like to) give the few!

And that’s the bla’s

Or else what?

The APP-LA-Kai…the “placate” into their hands. Beautiful. Buy me one of them crying machines. 

beauti-fool Katie…the only girl that WHEE-ADORE. 

ODOORS OF SKON-KEY.

The NECK ST. STOP (THE NEXT STOP) IS, OF COURSE THE UP TO THE NECK…

Why, of course…machines and power, you know. Hotsy Totsy.

“Everything you can make, we can make cruder…”

(Claire begins to sing / speak…)

We can make everything cruder than you!”

(Repeat/vary, etc.)

GRACE CHASE TEXT SECTION 4 (final)

(At some point Claire starts to pack the bags and clean up the stage, including packing up the flutes not in use – maybe play them each one last time before packing…)

Oh, you want to know what the job is?

The side of the universe is broken and we have got one thin cap on it in a good safe way. 

Why shouldn’t the world die? Who would care?

A man, a woman with ACHILLES HEEL O’sole SO DAID

As to have forgot all the fun we had and how all the steps of what to do fall naturally from being where you were. Again.

Eight hartso ‘gold made circular rounds, mounted on a stick and climb ‘em

(Claire mounts the contrabass flute and plays end solo – circa 5 mins, with EIS gradually fading into opening notes of Varese. As a kind of Coda, Claire returns to the opening questions…)

Somebody want to run somewhere?

What are the forces involved?

Where is it going?