5/26/10: This summer The Elegua Duo will present the world premiere of Caryatid for cello and piano by the highly gifted Los Angeles composer Chris Porter. The Elegua Duo's friendship with Chris dates back to their studies at Baldwin-Wallace College where Chris was already recognized as a innovative and sought-after artist. In anticipation of Caryatid''s world premiere on July 9, Chris has provided the following notes on his new work.
Caryatid for Cello and Piano
dedicated to Ginevra Ventre and Claire Black
A caryatid is an architectural support (a column, a pillar, or sometimes even the leg of a piece of furniture) sculpted in the form of a female. While stunning examples can be found around the world, I have to admit that I am fond of the caryatids by Rodin and Modigliani (which are arguably only allusions to the elegant creatures). However, these works of art have no direct relation to this piece. My brother suggested the word to me as a good title early in the planning stages for this music, but I had serious doubts. As the composition changed and developed, the word curiously remained—and without much more explanation, there it is as the title, for better or worse.
Caryatid makes extensive use of ‘limited aleatoricism.’ Aleatoricism can be most basically defined as ‘art by chance.’ It was the renowned 20th century Polish composer Lutosławski who coined the term ‘limited aleatoricism’ to refer to compositions where only certain elements are left to chance (for example, the composer may give notes but no rhythm, or vice versa, and allow the performer to determine the rest). Lutosławski would want me to stress here that despite leaving some elements unspecified, the composer should be in control of the sound of the composition as a whole at all times. In this piece in particular, only certain moments and brief sections are rhythmically coordinated—otherwise, fragments are repeated in tempos left to the artistic discretion of the performers.
Caryatid is structured as an almost continual set of variations. Concepts and motives come and go, slowly progressing and regressing, until the material calms in the closing section. The piece can also be thought of more closely in terms of a narrative structure where various characters (some as simple as a falling half-step motif) enter, develop, return, and influence the direction of the plot. As an example, consider the first two primary motives: a repeating A in the piano and the falling half-step in the cello. The two motives resurface continually throughout, at times elongating, changing direction, and changing tonal centers. By the end of the piece, the cello has successfully moved the repeated notes in the piano (now, very slow) a half-step lower despite the cello having moved into different material altogether. However, the tonal center of the piano part has moved from A to a (rather unstable) D-Flat. So resolution is not achieved as much as settled on. Satisfaction and rest are two different entities.
Perhaps the title can attribute its staying-power to the performers who are premiering this work, Ginevra Ventre and Claire Black. I dedicate this piece to them in an effort to express my gratitude for their musicality, artistry, and friendship. They have played many of my compositions—I have asked for them to sound beautiful and I have asked for them to sound ugly—and they have always exceeded my expectations and made my music better than it probably was. But this time, I can only ask and hope that they find enjoyment in the piece.
~Chris
Chris Porter is a composer and sound designer currently living in Los Angeles, California. Apart from concert works, he composes scores for films and enjoys collaborating in the areas of theater and dance.
Chris’ music has been performed across the United States. His most recent concert works include Tenebrae, which was commissioned for and premiered at the 2009 Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium Virgin Ears Workshop Series. Additionally, he has been commissioned to write a piece for the Little William Theater | Festival of New Music which will be premiered later in 2010 at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. Chris also writes music for theater and film. Last fall he was selected to participate in the Society of Composers and Lyricist’s Film Scoring Mentorship Program. Piece of Cake, a short directed by Eliza Ivanova and featuring music by Chris, was a finalist for the 2010 Student Academy Awards for the Animation Category.
Furthermore, Chris is an accomplished bassoonist, and has played with such ensembles as the American Creators Ensemble, the New Century Players, inAuthentica, Ensemble 303, the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival Orchestra. Originally from Maryland, Chris spent four years in Cleveland, Ohio where he studied under Loris Chobanian and earned a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory. He earned a Master of Fine Arts in Music Composition at California Institute of the Arts in May 2009. During his time in California, he has studied under Anne LeBaron and Wolfgang von Schweinitz.
Chris still considers himself an East Coaster, despite his Los Angeles address.
Visit www.chrisportercomposer.com to learn more about Chris and to listen to his music.
