Paper Lemmings
Jay Vilnai
About this work:
The sight of lemmings falling off cliffs in some National Geographic movie effected me
tremendously as a child. Although I know now that the poor creatures don’t kill themselves on
purpose, it’s still quite a sight to see them run forward, first one by one, then many, until the
pressure of forward movement throws them to the water. Paper Lemmings creates a similar
kind of forward momentum, first by slow fragment, then by relentless and driving repetition
and variation, coming to a halt when all players have fallen off of the proverbial cliff.
Version: 1.5
Year composed: 2008
Duration: 00:06:45
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 6-9 players
Instrumentation: 1 Flute, 1 Bass Clarinet, 1 Trumpet, 1 Trombone, 1 Violin, 1 Cello