Commentary

I.fOR VoiCE SOLO (1986)
mezzosoprano & tape, 5'30, text by J.Joyce

Three quarks for Muster Mark!
Sure he hasn't got much of a bark
And sure any he has it's all beside the mark.
But O, Wreneagle Almighty, wouldn't un be a sky of a lark
To see that old buzzard whooping about for uns shirt in the dark
And he hunting round for uns speckled trousers around by Palmerstown Park?
Hohohoho, moulty Mark!
You're the rummest old rooster ever flopped out of a Noah's ark
And you think you're cock of the wark.
Fowls, up! Tristy's the spry young spark
That'll tread her and wed her and bed her and red her
Without ever winking the tail of a feather
And that's how that chap's going to make his money and mark!
(II,4 / p.383)

My God, alas, that dear olt tumtum home
Whereof in youthfood port I preyed
Amook the verdigrassy convict vallsall dazes.
And cloitered for amourmeant in thy boosome shede!
(II,1 / p.231)

I.fOR VoiCE SOLO und II.FortaperecordeR are two independently composed pieces after the two texts from Finnegans Wake. They can be performed single or simultaneously. A simultaneous performance results in relations between vocal part and tape which were not constructed but emerge organically from different compositional interpretation of structure and speech rhythm of the same texts.

The tape consists exclusively of acoustically produced sounds (prepared piano, zither, bombarde) which were recorded in six independent tracks, four continuous 'live' takes, and two edited tracks, mixed down to one stereo recording.