A Far Cry - Richard Cornell: New Fantasias (World Premiere, 2010)

This world premiere of "New Fantasias" by the Boston composer, Richard Cornell was written for A Far Cry. Recorded from our 2010-2011 season opener at NEC's Jordan Hall, titled "Primordial Darkness".

Sarah Darling, one of our fine violists had a chance to sit down with the composer for a little session of Q&A about the piece:

"New Fantasias" - what elements of the fantasia were important to you in writing these pieces? And how are they made "new?"

In many pieces called "Fantasia" there are quixotic transformations of affect. An idea may recur, or yield to the next. Things may relate but not in an obvious way, and as the composer gives ideas free rein it seems anything can happen. There is a sense of free play and exploration. When I began composing in the 1970s, I used to write "fantasias" frequently along these lines, but I have not for years. While useful for me to write, some of those works now strike me as incoherent in form though I am still attracted to the ideas within. Revisiting and rethinking the "fantastic" impulse has allowed me to find that attitude of freedom anew but now with more control.

Your movements have very evocative titles. What is the relationship between the titles and the works themselves? Is the music written "for" the title, or vice versa, or is it a symbiotic process?

The titles are the last thing written. I always liked Debussy's practice of appending the titles at the conclusion of his Preludes (No. 7: Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest, "What the west wind saw") instead of on the first page. My titles describe, in some way, a state of mind or an attitude and not an agenda. The danger of such titles, of course, is that they are too often taken literally, and people look into the music for depictions. A story: a few years back I wrote a piece I called "The Light of October" for Collage New Music. When it was played here in New England, listeners made a connection between the music's variation principle and a highly transitional season. The title and program notes provided a useful analogy. Or so I thought: When it was played in Saint Petersburg, its Russian translation acquired a revolutionary significance that I never intended. Titles are only meant to be suggestive.

What would you like the audience to know about this piece, before they hear it? (Or even after)

I once heard the ideal listener described as someone "who predicts nothing, but remembers everything." Still, some orientation might be useful about the characters in play, but you won't get a synopsis.

1. Travels in the landscape. We move rapidly among areas that are amorphous and areas with a high level of structure. The amorphous areas are layered, each layer explored. Transitions are rapid or absent altogether.
2. In Dark Night. The harmonies are stretched, extending higher and higher. Phrases begin, and then dissolve.
3. Dance. A Scherzo. "Light like a bird, not a feather" (Calvino). The dance is flighty and strongly syncopated.
4. Playing with fire.




What kinds of music do you most enjoy hearing?

I am listening to Grisey, Duttileux, Lutoslawski, Ives, and Feldman just now, also renaissance composers like Dufay and Morales. Schütz is a favorite. I still practice Bach, etc., on the piano, which I greatly enjoy. In the car I'll listen to the kora master Ali Farka Touré, or to various folk artists, particularly Irish ones.

Recorded live on September 24th, 2010 by Simon C. Yue & Jesse Lewis.

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