Symphony of Seasons
Priscilla McLean
About this work:
“Jewels of January” is the first of a set of four music videos by Priscilla McLean entitled “Symphony of Seasons”. The video was taken in two locations: the icy January brook in front of the McLeans' farmhouse in the Taconic Mts. of New York, and a group of large hanging icycles on Rte. 22 heading towards the Vermont border a few miles away. The video took three years to film, in order to find the special ice images in the ever-changing brook. The technique of combining images is accomplished through the Videonics Analog/Digital Mixer, and is the first video work created by McLean that uses all her own footage.
The music, realized on the StudioVision and Vision Sequencer, is a combination of recorded live performance, samples, and the WaveStation Synthesizer. A large metal sheet, loaned to the McLeans by artist Anne Lindsay, is suspended by hooks and bowed with a bass bow, creating a series of icy long pitches that underlie the work. Piano, clarinet, ringing glacial rocks, wind chimes are used extensively, and the piece ends with the actual stream sounds, but when melted in the spring.
Although JEWELS OF JANUARY has been created to coincide with the video, the music has been traditionally thought out, with themes that return, melodies/motives building to a climax, and layering techniques.
Version: "Jewels of January"
Year composed: 2001
Duration: 00:09:00
Ensemble type: Electronic Instruments and Sound Sources:Prerecorded Sound
Instrumentation: ,1 Prerecorded Sound (Tape/CD/Other) soloist(s)