Mortal is a three-movement work for free bass accordion, tape and digital delay. The piece considers mortality, exploiting the image of the lungs as an audible and visual symbol of breath and breathing. The piece begins and ends with un-sounded air passing through the instrument’s bellows. The intervening music travels a considerable stylistic distance—from labyrinthine polyphony and Balkan dance to auditory clowning.
Duration
16′
Commissioned by
Sonic Arts Network
Performances
James Crabb
Birmingham City Hall, 13 April 1992
Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London, 9 May 1992
Atelier St Anne, Brussels, 5 Oct 1992
Mortal
Listen to Mortal
Description
Mortal is a three-movement work for free bass accordion, tape and digital delay. The piece considers mortality, exploiting the image of the lungs as an audible and visual symbol of breath and breathing. The piece begins and ends with un-sounded air passing through the instrument’s bellows. The intervening music travels a considerable stylistic distance—from labyrinthine polyphony and Balkan dance to auditory clowning.
Duration
16′
Commissioned by
Sonic Arts Network
Performances
James Crabb
Birmingham City Hall, 13 April 1992
Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London, 9 May 1992
Atelier St Anne, Brussels, 5 Oct 1992
Compact Disc
NMC036