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Haiku (1987) |
piano, live-electronics, tape - 13'
Commissioned by Philip Mead with funds provided by The Eastern Arts Association of England. First performance: 26 February, 1987 at the Concert Hall, Cambridge University, UK. Philip Mead, piano, Stephen Montague, electronics. Compact disc recording: Continuum label (NZ/UK) CCD 1061 CD title: Stephen Montague Orchestral and Chamber Works, Philip Mead, piano, Stephen Montague, electronics (released 1994) also released on the Unknown Public CD vol.3 pianoFORTE (UK) (released 1995) same artists.
In the summer of 1986 I went to the San Francisco Bay area for the first time, working for a month at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University, California. While I was there I was struck by the multiplicity of ethnic groups, particularly oriental, now indigenous to the area. It became clear to me for the first time why so many West Coast American composers like Henry Cowell, John Cage, Lou Harrison, Terry Riley and others had found so much inspiration in Eastern music. Haiku, a term for a special kind of Japanese poem, is a quiet homage to this spirit from the East and that West Coast tradition. The material for the computer generated tape was begun at Stanford University as part of a 1986 Arts Council of Great Britain Electroacoustic Music Bursary Award. The original tape was mixed at The West Square Electronic Studio, London with material developed both at Stanford University and IRCAM, Paris.
© 1987 Stephen Montague