| Agoraphobia Stephen Andrew Taylor, 2008-2009 |
"Blue Cave " by Hua Nian |
Commissioned by Ann Yeung for the World Harp Congress, supported by funds from the University of Illinois and the WHC. Premiere (acoustic version): 19 April 2008, Belgrade, Serbia. Jonathan Keeble, flute; Ann Yeung, harp. Premiere (electronic version): 25 July 2008, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Premiere of the complete version: 15 August 2009, New York City (National Flute Association); 19 August 2009, Montreal (International Computer Music Conference).
Agoraphobia.mp3 (6:30)
Agoraphobia 2 (4:40)
First movement (acoustic version, 6:25)
Program Note
Agoraphobia (“the fear of open spaces”) attempts
to evoke feelings of extreme wonder and terror—stepping into an alien,
unknown world for the first time. The music is inspired by a passage from
Ursula K. Le Guin's 2002 novella, Paradises Lost:
Wind, air moving fast, hard, endlessly blowing, making you cold, so you shivered, shuddered, like having a fever, the wind stopping and starting, restless, stupid, unpredictable, unreasonable, maddening, hateful, a torment...
Wind, air moving softly, moving slender grasses in waves over the hills, carrying odors from a long way off, so you lifted your head and sniffed, breathed it in, the strange, sweet, bitter smell of the world.
The sound of wind in a forest.
Wind that moved colors in the air.
Technical requirements
Flute: one mic with stand and cable
Harp: one mic with stand and cable
- small mixer, such as a Mackie 1202
- 2 loudspeakers plus amplifier (or powered speakers); if there are 4 or more
speakers we will use them for spatial effects, but 2 speakers will suffice
Video (optional):
- projector
- 10’ x 10’ screen, or larger
Space: enough space for flutist and harpist onstage, plus a table for mixer
and two laptops (one for audio, one for video)
Lighting: appropriate for the video to be clearly seen; possibly a stand light
for the two musicians
Last updated September 18, 2009 by Stephen Andrew Taylor, staylor7@illinois.edu