VOICES IN POETRY
Countdown – Heather Razo (b1988)
Poet’s Notes: Inverse poem — these were poems that after scanning, were inverted (black background, white text). This was to separate them from the other poems — the inverse poems were created in heightened states of anxiety (stress dreams, nightmares, etc). “Countdown,” as the title suggests, represents this sense of time running out. This was written in the summer, the premier season for this project. I was in Sacramento temporarily to see family and very restless to get back to New York, where I was living at the time.
Composer’s Notes: “Countdown” features a recurring motif that imitates the ticking of the clock which anchors the piece. This motif uses a compositional technique called hocketing, which splits a single word up over multiple voice parts, so as to, in this case, hearken to the back and forth quality of the clock’s ticking. As the vivid portions of the dream begin to give way, a hazy texture takes its place which eventually dissipates to the nothingness left when sleep ends and the dream is over.
For More Information Contact: www.VoxMusica.net
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Stay – Mario Burgos (b1987)
Poet’s Notes: This early morning poem was created from a somber headspace. I was feeling
very lost, and even contemplated throwing away this whole project as I entered the second phase (fall aka sophomore slump? Just kidding). Feelings of being kind and hopeful amidst a very lonesome and hopeless state. I remember feeling on the edge of REM/dreaming, but not quite there.
Composer’s Notes: Mario Burgos was inspired by the text of “Fall: Ill” which brought up the comforting, yet anxiety-laced inconsistency in one’s falling into sleep. There is a constant ebb and flow – falling and rising, much like the ocean’s waves – to this work. He wanted to acknowledge the desire to find peace and sleep while trying to calm the natural anxiety of an adult mind trying to fall gracefully into a dream state.
For More Information Contact: www.themarioburgos.com
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