Thrall
George Spicka
About this work:
This is the fifth of 7 stream-of-consciousness improvisations created for submission to Baltimore's Peek Review.
200 Word Statement About The Audio Work:
"Seven Movements of Hysteria" is an examination of the subconscious aspects of this psychiatric condition.
Captured in the medium of solo piano, they represent swings in mood from calm to raging and back again, not unlike the movements of the pendulous breasts of a woman as she is being made love to while on her hands and knees.
The works are a spontaneous creation, captured as the composer/performer plays and reflects on experiences that have lead to, are currently in the process of leading to, or will one day in the future, lead to a state of hysteria: personally, there was a dysfunctional family filled with hate, growing up under the threat of nuclear annihilation, a nervous breakdown, continued rejection, poverty and the eventual prospect of oblivion. Universal stimuli include the homeless, drug addicts, terrorist attacks, airplane crashes, and all too frequent senseless murders.
Captured in the medium of solo piano, they represent moods from raging to calm, not unlike the final throes of a new born corpse as it swings beneath the gallows.
1-Id Tales 1:07 / 2-Night Voices 1:16 / 3-Stranger Fruit 1:02
4-The Blessing 1:06 / 5-Thrall 1:12 / 6-The Character of Weeds 1:06
7-Searching The Empty Room 1:10
Version: Solo Piano Improvisation
Year composed: 1999
Duration: 00:01:12
Ensemble type: Keyboard:Piano
Instrumentation: ,1 Piano soloist(s)