dwm

enhanced gravity

point of yucca

:: ooppera

running projects

rural runcible raven

for computer, voice, and interactive visuals

Music and visuals: David Dvorin

Text and images: Edward Lear
“The Rural Runcible Raven” is an excerpt from an ongoing electro-acoustic series of compositions based on the nonsense poetry of nineteenth-century children‘s writer and illustrator, Edward Lear (of „The Owl and the Pussycat“ fame). “The Raven…” is but one of twenty-six (one for each letter of the alphabet) individual pieces based on his “Absurd ABCs”, a series of whimsical character depictions accompanied by line drawings (Lear was a nature illustrator). As of now, I have finished thirteen of these during a span of three years; a long working period attributed mainly to the nature of my self-enforced compositional method.
This piece is an excellent example of my strong belief in ”cohesive composition“, wherein all musical elements are created from directly related sources. What makes this piece especially interesting, is that it was created ONLY by using a recording of my voice reciting the three lines of text; all sounds are generated through extensive digital treatment and editing of the spoken words. “The Raven…” in particular utilizes percussive sounds transformed from the words, syllables, and diphthongs, of the poetry. I like to think of these derived sounds as unique instruments, individually created for (and from) each piece, that are then performed by myself utilizing a variety of interfaces (MIDI controllers, mouse, digital processing, etc.).
I frequently perform this and others from the series live. In conjunction with the music, projections of Lear‘s original accompanying illustrations are manipulated in real-time via my interaction with the computer. Some of the enclosed graphics are stills from one such performance.

Libretto

The Rural Runcible Raven, who wore a White Wig and flew away with the Carpet Broom

David Dvorin
David Dvorin received a B.A. in Music Composition from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a M.F.A. in Music Composition from the California Institute of the Arts, where he studied with Morton Subotnick, Stephen L. Mosko, and Wadada Leo Smith. While attending both schools, he worked professionally as a film, CD-ROM and television composer, and was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Achievement in a Craft: Music Composition, as an undergraduate.
David’s activity as a composer/performer includes performances at numerous new music venues, technology conferences, and music festivals including the Northern California Experimental Music Festival, Carmel Performing Arts Festival, Big Sur Experimental Music Festival, and Sound & Vision Festivals. His latest CD release, With(in)communicado, has received much critical exclaim and airplay, both internationally and throughout the U.S., earning him an entry in the All Music Guide (www.allmusic.com). A frequent presenter at music technology conferences, David has both given workshops and seminars on computer music and education.
In 2002, David worked alongside composer Terry Riley and Kronos Quartet creating and arranging the electro-acoustic elements of the NASA commissioned piece, “Sun Rings”. The concert length work for string quartet, concert choir, “space sounds”, and projected visuals received its premiere in October 2002, and is booked through 2004 in many major cities throughout the U.S. and Europe.
In addition to his musical activities, David works for Apple Computer, Inc., and is a music professor at Sierra College in the California Sierra Nevada foothills.