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cairn eight: ii for speaking and singing pianist Key ““
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Text to be spoken by musician in performance. Text should be spoken in dry, professional tone, with minimal excitement. Allow speech rhythms to guide tempo and rhythm.
(‘)
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Breaks during speech of about 1-2” or less. Assume the same amount of time for commas and periods; some breaks are added after commas and periods for notated actions.
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Actions to occur during piece. Actions occur at location of underlined syllable, word, or break.
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Any continuous/repeating action. Actions continue until next negating action, line signifying end of action, or described/notated end of action.
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Scrub keytops with L.H. fingernails. Approximately 1-2” for each ascending/descending gesture on the keytops; use two fingernails for descending actions, and four for ascending actions. Start with ascending action. Use no pitch.
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Slam fallboard against piano case.
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Parenthetical strum: Strum non-sounding area of strings closest to circular opening in soundboard, immediately to the right of C.B. III with fingernail. Strums are 1” or less in duration.
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Percussively slam una corda pedal. All sounds held in sostenuto should ring as a result.
scrub
f.t., f.n. = =
Fingertip, fingernail. Short, medium, and long fermatas (in order from top to bottom). Short fermatas are should be 2-4”, medium fermatas should be 4-6”, and long fermatas should be as long as required to allow sounds to “die” away. Specific fermata durations (always within the above ranges) may be provided; said durations apply for a fermata sign until a new duration is given for the same fermata sign. Performance Notes
Assume all “traditionally” notated material is at a tempo of quarter note = 60. All strikes of the circular opening in soundboard should occur with fingertip/fingertips. Refer to piano diagram on page 2 for any references to crossbeam numbers (i.e. “C.B. I”). For coda, ignore “box-action” rules governing the rest of the movement in favor of “traditional” performance practice regarding notation. All quotes (excepting ending dialogue) is from Notes on the Cinematograph by Robert Bresson. Ending dialogue is an excerpt from Au Hasard Balthazar (also by Bresson).
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cairn eight: ii
(begin with eyes closed, hands in lap) “Rid myself of the accumulated errors and untruths. Get to know my resources, make sure of them.” (‘) open eyes, put LH on white keys
“The Faculty (‘) of using
my resources (‘) well diminishes when their
scrub
number grows.”
“Master precision. (‘) Be a precision (‘) instrument myself.”
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“Not have the soul of an executant (of my own projects). Find, for each p.s.
shot, a new pungency over and above what I had imagined. Invention (re-invention) on the spot.” (‘) p.s.
end scrub on nearest upstroke
“Metteur-en-scéne, director. The point is not to direct someone, (‘) but slam C.B. I
slam C.B. II
scratch string continuously in tremolo with f.n.
slam C.B. III
to direct oneself.”
“No actors. (No directing of actors.) No parts. p.s.
(No learning of parts.) No staging. p.s.
But the use of working models, taken from life. B E I N G (models) instead of S E E M I N G (actors).” spell out in sync with knocking of p.c. top
p.s.
same actions as on “B E I N G”
p.s.
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“Movement (‘) from the exterior to the interior. (Actors: (‘) movement strike circular opening in soundboard, strongly;
p.s.
from the interior to the exterior.)” (‘) gradually release while stopping scratch tremolo;
“The thing that matters (‘) is not what they show me (‘) but what they hide from me and, above all, what they do not suspect (‘) is in them.” slam slam and release sostenuto pedal in sync with syllable pairs
“Between them and me: telepathic exchanges, divination.” quietly strum strings from C.B. I to C.B. II
strike circular opening in soundboard, loudly
“(1925?) The TALKIE (‘) opens its doors to theatre (‘) which occupies p.s.
the place (‘) and
surrounds it (‘) with barbed wire.” u.c. slam;
silently depress above cluster (black + white keys); may be depressed earlier if needed
during fermata, fermata, place place during held cluster cluster into in sostenuto held sostenuto
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“Two types of film: those that employ the resources of the theatre u.c. slam
(actors, direction, etc.) and use the camera in order to reproduce; those p.s.
knock C.B. IV
that employ the resources of cinematography (‘) and use the camera to create.” (‘) u.c. slam
“The terrible habit (‘) of theatre.”
(‘) u.c. slam
“CINEMATOGRAPHY (‘) IS A WRITING WITH I M A G E S (‘) IN spell out in sync with knocking of p.c. top
MOVEMENT (‘) AND WITH SOUNDS.” u.c. slam
“An actor in cinematography might as well be in a foreign country. (‘) He does not speak its language.”
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“sans manquer de naturel, manquent de nature.”* (‘)
“Nature: (‘)
what the dramatic art suppresses in favor of a strum strings from C.B. I to C.B. II
naturalness that is learned and maintained by exercises.” u.c. slam
strike circular opening in soundboard, strongly
“Nothing rings more false in a film than that natural tone of the theatre copying life (‘)
and traced over studied sentiments.” (‘)
“To think it more natural (‘)
for a movement to be made (‘) or a
phrase said like this than like that is absurd, is meaningless in u.c. slam
cinematography.”
* Quote of CHATEAUBRIAND.
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(‘)
“No possible relations between an actor and a tree. The two sustain all pitches
belong to different worlds. (‘)
(A stage tree simulates a real p.s.
tree.)”
“Respect
man’s nature (‘) without wishing it more palpable (‘)
than it is.”
[“…without lacking naturalness, (‘) they lack nature.”]* (‘) u.c. u.c. slam slam; switch sostenuto from right to left foot during fermata, switch from right to left during preparefermata, to standswitch up, from foot on sostenuto pedal; right to left foot on sostenuto; speak into piano prepare to speak into soundboard;
“-And then, a multitude of structures (‘) of which I am not the master (‘) release p.s.; speak intointo soundboard for release p.s. stand up, up and speak soundboard sostenuto, of pieceof(arrow apply tto “ p.s.” ) sostenut, remainder for the remainder piece doesn’ (arrowtdoesn’ loudly loudly apply to “ p.s.” )
leap out of my canvas, (‘) each one carrying a dialectic. It is not the tremolo continuously in circular opening of soundboard with f.t.; ebb and flow dynamics, tremolo speed after opening crescendo
* Quote of CHATEAUBRIAND.
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waterfall that I grasp, but what the waterfall dictates to me without any logical relation to it. Its fall puts me in movement.” “-A cerebral painting? A thought painting?” p.s.
“-A painting of action, action painting.” p.s.