"Long Pine Creek, New Year's Day" by Rusty
Banks
(Comments are by
the composer)
About one year ago, I needed to write a piece for my performance
group based in Birmingham, AL. We called ourselves Bent Indigenous
because we had a keen interest in fusing elements of various roots musics
with contemporary art music sounds. I also like to include some
kind of regional and/or environmental elements to each performance. So
I could work on this piece (for a performance in February, 2003), Christy
and I rented a cabin in Long Pine, Nebraska, next to Long Pine Creek. It
was one of the few times I have fished and not caught a thing. I did,
however, manage to get some samples of the creek and fashion them into a
piece for guitar and soundfile. I also made an ambient sound installation
to be realized on four boom boxes.
Rather than a "composition", LONG
PINE CREEK: NEW YEAR'S DAY is more
of a presentation concept. It is four pieces performed in a soundscape
that connects and cushions the separation of the pieces. After a
short boom-box prelude, I perform the guitar and tape work. Then Christy
performs my composition for clarinet and soundfile called Slit. Betsy
then performs my work for soundfile and flute called Limbre. For
the original performance I wrote a work for all of us to play as an ending.
Tonight, we will instead end with a work I had written for Betsy,
Christy and me entitled GlassFireFlower. I feel this is more
satisfying because the sound file for Limbre uses samples from GlassFireFlower, as
well as samples from several other recordings that feature some or all
of us. The title, LONG PINE CREEK: NEW YEAR'S DAY is not
merely archival. As cliche as it is, a stream best represents the
passage of time.
It is large, connected, and easily perceived, yet one cannot hold it. If
one stands in it, he affects what occurs downstream. Finally, a stream
is like time because there is never enough of it.