Program Notes

 

 

"Manic Pixies Dream  is a piece for solo bass clarinet inspired by the frenetic nature of contemporary dance music and singular, life-changing people and events." note from Larkin Sanders. 

 

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"From Darkness attempts to embody the following idea through music, visuals, and movement: 'A piece that attempts to capture the emotional uncertainty and mental struggles many musicians face in the ever-changing career landscape of the arts.'

 

As a musician also attempting to carve a path in a career that is always winding in new directions, I experienced many of these emotions, and I assume other musicians can relate to these feelings. When brainstorming how to portray this musically, I drew inspiration from other processes of emotion. The stages of grief came to mind, and in my experience, its progression felt similar to how I process the “emotional uncertainty” of navigating the “ever-changing career landscape” of being a musician. Each movement is not meant to completely tie to the five stages of grief, but instead is an outline of processing difficult emotions. The most important message I would like to send with this piece is that no matter how dark it may seem, the light will always come as long as you persevere.

An incredible storyteller through visuals, my wife, Ina de Alba, created the video that accompanies the music. She utilizes the contrast between light and dark throughout the video to enhance the context of the music. I would be remiss to not acknowledge her ability to translate my ideas to visual art, and I want to thank her for her help with creating this piece.

 

The stage movement for this piece was used as a way to enhance the connection between the live performer and fixed multimedia. The performer moves to different locations on the stage that correspond to different visuals that appear on screen. Please see below for music location and relative stand placement. Five stands and two copies of the second movement are required." 

note from Francisco Javier de Alba