Framed Silences
I've been working on two pieces of music that are interrelated; sort of a light and shadow thing though maybe they're more like host and parasite, each serving both functions. The light piece, I've come to think of it as the feminine piece, has been problematic for me. I've been able to hear it in my mind but unable to grasp it long enough to capture the sounds. I feel sometimes like I'm walking on rice paper in steel-toe boots. I was forging ahead with definite ideas in mind but was unable to see when they were not working. Also, initially at least, I was not leaving any room for intuition in the process.
On Friday, I came across the phrase "framed silences" describing the late-period work of Luigi Nono. Those two words hit me like a shot. Music, or sound if you prefer, is born from silence. The first question has to be: "why break the silence?"
Posted at June 1, 2003 09:05 PM