Program Notes
Inconvenient Wounds is about finding threads of hope in a world that is slipping away. The beginning imagines the sound of the moment when a tiny crack in a glacier opens, first slowly, then rapidly, as a massive slab of ice as tall as a skyscraper collapses into the sea. And yet, as Leonard Cohen says — the cracks are “how the light gets in”. May we see into the cracks; and may we move toward the light.
This piece was written as part of Yolanda Kondonassis’s FIVE MINUTES for Earth project, and is based on images from J Henry Fair’s Industrial Scars.
Recording
Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
Special Performance Requirements
This piece requires some extended techniques on the harp. One technique requires the use of a triangle beater (though it is possible to use any metal or hard, thin stick that won’t damage your strings). All other techniques can be performed using solely the mechanisms available on the harp.
Performance Notes:
While this work requires only Western classical (and extended) techniques to play, it does contain some elements of Hindustani classical music. You will see some references to raags such as Malkauns and Vibhas, with the pitch collections for those raags listed above. These are just for your knowledge, but feel free to explore them further. The most easily accessible resources are here and the Spotify playlist for The Raga Guide, each of which will give you some short excerpts/explanations of how the raag sounds in a traditional Hindustani setting.
This work also requires some extended technique, most of which is explained in Yolanda Kondonassis’s book The Composer’s Guide to Writing Well for the Modern Harp. Most extended techniques are available on a YouTube video companion to the book called “Special Effects on the Harp: A Personal Tour”. This piece requires a triangle beater, or another hard, metallic stick that can fit comfortably between two harp strings. Please use the object that you feel makes the most interesting/unusual sound — this choice is entirely yours.
I later used the central melody of this piece in my work for orchestra called RE|Member. It may provide some additional context to hear it orchestrated in another setting, especially since this is one of my very few orchestral works that does not contain harp.
Premiere/Performances
This piece will be premiered on April 8, 2022 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills CA, as part of Yolanda Kondonassis’s evening-length show FIVE MINUTES for Earth.