EllisLudwig-Leone FalseWeHope
forsoprano,piano/synthesizer&stringquartet 26'
AlltextbyKarenRussellandCareyMcHugh©2022
Songs: FalseWeHope
OurLadyoftheDunes ProdigalDaughter
AHouse,AFamily Unblessing
HowtoResurrectaLovedOne'sVoice WelcomeHome Litany
Composer'snote:
In2020,whilewewereallsequesteredinourhouses,therewasthisstrangedissonancebetweenhowscarythingswereoutside, howtrulydarkandworrisomethefuturefelt,againstthesmaller,moreintimatedramasofourowndailyritualsSomeofus werethrownbackintoclosecontactwithourfamilies,withwhoseownmicrodramaswewerequicklyreacquainted.Sittingat thedinnertableeverynightfeltlikeakindofconstantnegotiation,anevaluation:whoneededhelp,whowasdrifting.
Thesesongsareaproductofthattime,ofconversationswithmyfriendsKarenandCareyaboutfaithandfamily,theghostly originsoflanguage,andthelonelyvigilspeoplekeep,togetherandalone.Wediscussedthefaiththatunderliesevenourmost garbledattemptsatcommunication notjustfaithinoneanother,orinaGod,butinmeaningitself.Wewantedthelyricsto representthisongoingstruggletomakeourselvesunderstood,andtomeansomethingtooneanother
There’saviolencetothesesongs,andafearthatcomeswithnavigatingunknownwaters.Butthere’salsoserenity,a reassurancethatcomesfromritual,fromthecomplexwarmthofafamilyunit,fromourendlessdesiretoconnect:toother people,tostories,tosomethinglargerthanourselvesTome,thesefeellikethetoolsavailabletouswhenwereckonwith forcesoutsideourcontrol
Writingthispiecefeltlikeshiningalightonaninvisiblestructureinadarkroom.Asthesourceoflightmoved,itcastdifferent shadows,slowlyrevealingitselfI’msothankfultohaveworkedwithsuchclosefriendstobringittolife
Performancenote:
ThispieceshouldbeperformedwithcustomizedclicktrackandanAbletonrigrunningacustomfilethatmodulatesthe singer'svoiceinrealtime.Thesemodulatedeffectsarerepresentedaspitchesinthe"FX"staffdirectlybelowthevoicestaff. Thevoiceshouldbelightlyamplified,aswellastheinstruments,withgenerousreverb.
Thekeyboardplayershouldsetupasmallbasskeyboard(aMoogSubPhattyorsimilar)totheleftoftheirpianoThebass patchsoundshouldbedeepandround,likethethuddingofaheartbeneaththefloorboards,andabletomodulatewitha filtercutoff.
Forthestrings,dottedslursindicatephrasesbutdonotindicatelegatoRegularslursindicatelegato,"fullyconnected" phrases.Pizzicatoshouldalwaysbeallowedtoring,exceptforthecello,whoshouldusetheirdiscretion.
Thepieceisbestperformedintheround,inadarkspace,likeaséance
Premiere: FalseWeHopewaspremieredbyElizaBagg,EllisLudwig-Leone,andAttaccaQuartetatBigEarsFestivalonMarch25,2022 inKnoxville,Tennessee
ItwasrecordedinJanuary2021atBetterCompanyStudiosinFortGreene,NewYork,andreleasedonBetterCompany RecordsonFebruary24,2023.
bouncingspiccato offthestring(notmuchpitch)
senzasord stillbouncing,notmuchpitch
senzasord. sulpont fasttrem
pocosulpont.
sulpont.
therearevoi ces - in the sta tic -
therearevoi ces - in the sta tic -
lightaccent
see her crossing - the sandbar - lowtideaghost town a ci ty - of
see her crossing - the sandbar -
staccatothroughout usingopenstringswhenpossible
livermefromques tions - a-sleep in the fam-ily mu-
seum homeis the high note attheedge of ourrange we climb an
years I paidrenttoyour sha dow - sixyearsIpaidrent to your sha dow -
consord. moltosultasto staticky,onlyalittlepitch
a
rib-full ofce -dars inthe middle - dis tance - thewind
Vln2
Vln1
veryfastbow
moltoflautando veryfast,quiettremolo
moltoflautando veryfast,quiettremolo
¼clt (msp)
ord msp,lightbow (so8vasounds)
ord. sulpont., lightbow
climb
into - thebath-tub withshoes on both yourfeet