Program Note
Lament was commissioned by flutist/poet Wayla Chambo as part of her TranScript project that explores the intersections and interactions of text and music. Lament is a response to Chambo’s poem “A History of Lament.” The piece engages themes of space and location from the text, including the transition between indoors/outdoors and death/life, as well as musical themes of “lament” from the classical tradition. Lament unfolds through a series of layers, beginning and ending with electroacoustic sound. Sung text from the poem is bookended by this electroacoustic texture, with flute and live processing at the center of the form. This processing references the spatial oppositions in the poem by extending the acoustic ute into the virtual realm. The flute and electronics are set against the backdrop of processed city soundscape through field recordings from Downtown Los Angeles.
Lament is recorded by Wayla Chambo on the album Mythical Spaces, which was released by Ravello Records in 2018.
Please contact the composer if you would like performance materials for this piece.
