Press Release

"Ring of Bone" is a new piece written by New York City composer David Harris and
Madison visual artist Jeremy Wineberg.  The composition, in three scenes for
chorus and sound artist, is based on separate dream sequences experienced by
Jeremy and David, who are both vivid and lucid dreamers. 

The piece also uses a poem that fits perfectly with another aspect of the
project, synesthesia.  Lew Welch's "I Saw Myself" compellingly describes a
dreamlike state of the mind that drifts from sight to sound.  The collaboration
that Jeremy and David set out to achieve is a bridge between sight and sound.
 Paintings by Jeremy describe the visual experience of two dreams, to be
translated by the singers and sound artist into tones through improvisation and
interpretation. Some notes are prescribed, but most of the decisions are left
to the individual artists to draw from the images.  The piece will premiere on
May 15th at Rockefeller University's Caspary Auditorium,
1230 York Avenue at 4pm.

New York sound artist Stephan Moore is collaborating with C4: the Choral
Composer/Conductor Collective (Chris Baum, conductor) to help realize the
piece. The ultimate sound profile will include remastered samples from the
choir, creating a broad and multi-dimensional improvisational palette.

Program Notes
by David Harris

I once asked the question on FaceBook, “what sound does yellow make” and got the reply “I’m not sure, but blue is definitely a sound.” Science tells us that our wires can get crossed, that we can hear sight and taste touch, but the thought of such things challenges our logical precepts. Perhaps, though, within the artistic part of our brains the associations are more easily understood.

Synethseia: “A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color” (answers.com). The idea to use dream-inspired images for “Ring of Bone” developed from the sense that dreams have a way of fluidly transmuting sensory experience. The composition is as much about eliciting cross-sensory reaction as it is about reflecting creative ideas. Hence, the co-creative aspects of a sound artist and choral improvisation are the piece’s primary vehicle. Even in the third scene’s strict canon, singers are given as little prescribed information as possible. The musicians have been asked to respond to the visual, to let it elicit sound and to experiment with how color, line and shape impact auditory response. The background stories offer an understanding of the artistic instigation points, but the experience lies in letting your mind fall into the artwork, buoyed by aural reflections (and try not to “think” too much).

“Ring of Bone” is in three scenes, based on the following:

Jeremy's dream:
I am trusted with a beluga whale which I am guarding in a shallow pool. The sun is reflecting off the waves on the surface of the pool and the whale is swimming playfully around. There is some anxiety about being attacked by some smaller predator, but this is more an annoyance than a menace.

David's Dream:
When I was younger, I had a recurring nightmare where I would walk down a hallway (I viewed from the side) lined with really green grass and sometimes perfectly situated flowers and a low bass drone filled my mind. At some point, I was face to face (perspective shift) with a friend of family member who was sitting in a big chair and we'd chat. Randomly and quickly, the chair would mangle them horribly and the drone would turn into an amazingly loud crash and I would wake up.

Poem:

[I SAW MYSELF]

I saw myself
a ring of bone
in the clear stream
of it all

and vowed,
always to be open to it
that all of it might flow through

and then heard
"ring of bone" where
ring is what a

bell does

Lew Welch