Unseen Leaves for soprano, oboe, tape and slides
Lawrence Moss
About this work:
Unseen Leaves is a Theaterpiece for soprano, solo oboist,electronics and video.The text is derived from two poems by Whitman, "Unseen Buds" (1891) and "Leaves of Grass" (1855); The two poems thus bracket Whitman's life, and the music as well as slides echoes his themes of Life and Death. Unseen Leaves is the opening selection on a CD released by the Electronic Music Foundation (EMF CD 045)
"In 'Unseen Leaves', an evocative collage for soprano, oboe, tape and slide projections, Lawrence Moss has succeeded remarkably well in finding a fresh voice of his own. The work sounded impressively resourceful and imaginative in an expert first performance by the Contemporary Music Forum..." Alan M. Kriegsman, Washington Post, Oct. 20, 1975.
"Lawrence Moss's 'Unseen Leaves'...is a most impressive piece, combining virtuostic parts for the instrumentalist and singer with electronic sounds in interesting and subtle ways. The tape part is closely integrated - mainly through pitch rather than timbre - with the live music. It also contains spoken segments during which parts of the two poems are read with slight electronic distortion. The structure of the work which is divided into two sections (one for each poem), is clear nd yet unpredictable. When performed live, 'Unseen Leaves' also incorporates slide projections. The recorded version makes me very curious about what the total effect would be." R.P.M. in High Fidelity Magazine, Jan. 1979.
"For athose who are not hard-core modernists, the most effective work to begin with is probably the Moss'Unseen Leaves', a very dramatic setting of two Walt Whitman poems by a composer who has lightened some of the extreme complexirty found in his earlier works, but still maintains a very high level of intensity." Joseph McLellan, Washington Post, Dec. 18, 1977.
"In his theater-piece setting of two Walt Whitman poems, 'Unseen Buds' and 'The Spotted Hawk', Moss wove oboe melodies...and quadriphonic tape of synthesized sounds around the soprano's singing. Beautiful slide projections (microphotography for the first song, color shots of soaring hawks and skyscapes for the second) enhanced the poetic imageries. Dramatic lighting changed as the two performers shifted positions, and in and out of sight.
The music was linear, lyric both in the oboe songs and in the elctronic sounds, which were subtle in gradual change of registration, texture and coloring...'Unseen Leaves' was a beautifully integrated, wholly musical experience." Robert Commanday in the San Francisco Chronicle, May 1, 1979
Year composed: 1975
Duration: 00:16:36
Ensemble type: Electronic Instruments and Sound Sources:Prerecorded Sound and Live Instrument(s)
Instrumentation: ,1 Oboe soloist(s), ,1 Soprano soloist(s)
Instrumentation notes: oboe has improvisation. Although designed as a theatrepiece, "Unseen Leaves" could conceivably be performed as a concert work