TWIN SOULS

TEXT-BASED ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC BY BARRY TRUAX

1. WINGS OF FIRE (1996)
for female cellist and tape (SOCAN 14:00)

Frances Marie Uitti, cello

2. ANDROGYNE, MON AMOUR (1997)
a music theatre work for male double bassist and tape (SOCAN 16:02)

Robert Black, double bass

Video version
Sound Example available

3. PATTERNS (1996)
for female speaker and tape (SOCAN 6:11)

Elizabeth Carefoot, speaker

4. SHE, A SOLO (1973)
for mezzo-soprano and tape (SOCAN 11:50)

Phyllis Mailing, mezzo-soprano

5. IN MEMORIAM A.H.H. (1999)
for tenor and tape (SOCAN 4:13)

Marcel van Neer, tenor
Sound Example available

6. HYMN TO THE MOON (1997)
for alto and tape (SOCAN 3:01)

Sue McGowan, alto

7. - 8. TWIN SOULS (1997)
for chamber choir and tape (SOCAN 14:02)

Vancouver Chamber Choir, Jon Washburn, conductor

7. Thou and I (7:18)

8. We are the stars which sing (6:44)

Total recording time: 70 min.

 

Twin Souls is a collection of electroacoustic compositions that incorporate texts which deal with various gender issues. Some, but not all, refer to same sex relationships; others leave the identity of "the other" to the listener's interpretation. In all cases I have gravitated toward lyric poetry that expresses the human desire for this other being, whether a "mirror image", an idealized partner, or a complementary "opposite". In the first two works (Wings of Fire and Androgyne, Mon Amour), the instrument itself is personified as the lover to whom the poetry is addressed. Patterns and She, a Solo represent female characters experiencing crises in their lives and relationships. In the excerpts (In Memoriam A.H.H. and Hymn to the Moon) and arrangements (Twin Souls) from my opera Powers of Two, these relationships are dramatized on stage. In each piece, the disembodied electroacoustic element takes on the role of creating in your mind your own version of the "twin soul".

A video version of Androgyne, Mon Amour is also available.

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