The name is absent

73

In this example, Larsen adheres to the natural rhythm of American English, using a
duple and triple rhythm for the phrase “the unexplainable,” and returns to the lower
starting pitch on the syllable “plain” to follow the manner in which and American would
emphasize this syllable in ordinary conversation. According to Larsen, this introduction
should be played without any sense of meter or bar lines. She reflected that if she were
writing the piece today she would not include bar lines in the score because she does not
want performers to be tempted to make the rhythm too strict. As a child, Larsen sang
Gregorian chant at Christ the King School in Minneapolis, the Catholic school she
attended,⁵⁰ and found a chant-like melody a useful vehicle to suggest O’Keeffe’s
adjustments in size, shape, contour, simplification, and reduction of the hills. Larsen
recalls that she had not used a chant-like melody deliberately before encountering
O’Keeffe’s paintings, but was drawn to it as a way to create a sense of flow without using
meter.⁵'

According to Larsen, a notated meter is appropriate to the middle part of the piece,
shown in Example 2.3. A layer of significance is added to this when one resets
O’Keeffe’s text to Larsen’s viola line. Here the words “to understand” match up with the
expressive rising octave motive in m. 23 and 27. Thus, with “understanding” comes a
more regular quarter note pulse in the piano. In addition, although the viola and clarinet
appear to have separate roles throughout the piece (the clarinet often represents the air or
the sense of infinity, and the viola line was originally intended for O’Keeffe’s words),

⁵⁰ Larsen later recalled: “In my elementary school years, I learned to read and sing
Gregorian chant, which is unified, non-metric and non-westem music. There was no
question of who sang well and who didn't. This made a very strong impression on me
personally and musically.” Libby Larsen, “For Kids,”
http://libbylarsen.com/index.php?contentID=280 (accessed 5 February, 2010).
⁵' Larsen, interview, 8/2008.

<<   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   >>

More intriguing information