Escape from the Evil Empire
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A dirge for soprano, women’s chorus, and orchestra, ‘Escape from the Evil Empire’ was created with the idea of composing original music for an epic, major motion picture. The original text speaks of unwanted souls in a nation from which they must escape. Screaming women, textpainting, heavy percussion, dissonance, and axial tonality are the backbone of this opus, combining the blues and its associated colloquialisms with neo-romantic textures, and adventurous, dramatic contrasts. This one-movement work also embodies elements that I have never used. The inclusion of Scelsi mutes for strings, and the use of four percussionists are certainly non standard characteristics of orchestral instrumentation. It is a daunting decision that makes future programming difficult, but it is attributed to the works’ aesthetic of escaping from that which has become outdated and unbearable. The inclusion of a soprano with women’s chorus, though encountered much in orchestral repertoire and film music, combined with non-Western colloquialism and the blues isolates this work from any parallel. I wanted to compose a work that I enjoy, instead of satisfying the common practice. ‘Escape from the Evil Empire’ represents the risks one must take to stand out, to be recognized, and to be free from the old ways.
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M.M.