Veil#4

SuzanneKite

Film,Veil,andQuoteareprovided.

Wrapyourselfintheveil. Readthefollowingquote.
ItisMaya,theveilofdeception,whichblindstheeyesof mortals,andmakesthembeholdaworldofwhichtheycannot sayeitherthatisorthatisnot:foritislikeadreamitislike thesunshineorthesanewhichthetravellertakesfromafarfor water,orthestraypieceofropehemistakesforasnake.

Pressplayonthefilm.
https://vimeo.com/63764917

Begin.

This piece is meant for solo piano but can be reproduced for any size ensemble of any instrumentation. The score consists of both object, text,andvisualstimuliinanefforttofullyconveythe texturalqualityoftheintendedexperience,withoutusingtraditionalnotation. This piece is an exploration into the ideas presented by writers such as Jorge Louis Borges in his

collection "Labyrinths" and my ownphilosophiesontheeverpresentquality ofthe'Other'thatseemsto pervade our lives. A veil is a thin, transparent barrier. With a little effort you can seethroughandeven lift its fabric, whatever it's fabric be made of. Through this piece I posit that same veil shielding our experience of the now from the memories of past is that which shields us from experiencing ourselves andexperiencingtheOther. Borges story The Circular Ruins, depicts a man who dreams a boy into existence, butmusterase

the childs memory of his creation. As themandreams,hewastroubledbytheimpressionthatallthis had happened before. Suchtroubledfeelingofalmostunderstandingtheconceptsbehindtime,arethe definitive qualities of the veil of deception. The mans troubled feeling is mirrored throughout Labyrinths, with many characters on the verge of understanding the inexplicable qualities of time, but alwaysjustoutofreach. In the essay A New Refutation of Time, Borges explains this intense, troubled feeling, as the

realizationthattimeisinconceivableandinexplicable. I felt dead. I felt as an abstract spectator of the world, an indefinite fear imbued with science, which is the best clarity of metaphysics. I did not think I had returned upstream on

the supposed waters of Time rather I suspected that I was the possessor of a reticent or absent sense of the inconceivable word eternity. Only later was I able to define that imagination...Time, if we can intuitively grasp such an identity, is a delusion the difference and inseparability of one moment belonging to its apparent past from another belonging to itsapparentpresentissufficienttodisintegrateit.

The film was created by taking 4 shots, dividing them evenly into 4 second clips, and then establishing an order. I then cut the video to play forward, backwards, zoomed in, sideways, layered, etc, but always maintaining the original order. The scenes were chosen based on color, texture, and shapetocreateapaletteofvisualreferencefortheperformer(s). The physical veil should either be provided by the composer, venue, orperformer(s).Itshould be light in color, sheer enough to see through, and large enoughtowrapabodyin.Theveilismeantto providethephysicalsensationsofdisconnectionfromsomething.

PostTonalAssignment If I were to perform this piece, I would focus on the washed out colors I could obtain from my instrument. If performing on violin, I would begin with soft, upper Gstring colors, possibly harmonics,but keep the bow pressure normalandfull toned, relyingsolelyonthetonecolorto guidetheshape oftheline. Disregarding the rhythmic nature of the film for the first 20 seconds, I would just explore colors untilthe moment arose to climb the fingerboard upthroughtheDand A strings withGriseystyle bowing texture.I would focus on fluttering and fitting inwith thechangingchordsof thebackground music.Bow speed and pressurewouldwildlyvaryandbecomesparserandsparserthroughtheendofthepiece.