In the corner over there a shadow is reading

William Pearson - Winter 2011 Text by Pierre Reverdy

for soprano, cello and piano

A simple love song, using a translated text of Pierre Reverdys Central Heating. Written in the winter of 2011 as an outlet for my nostalgia for a past relationship, joys, pains and all. A reaction to the traditional art song, where I believe the rigid melody/accompaniment hierarchy detracts from an organic, ever-shifting mode of expression I nd more natural.

At bottom, everything we see is articial even your mouth I see your face and I dont believe it youre pale One night we were sad and wept on our trunk
Pierre Reverdy - Central Heating

Performance Notes:
The pianist never plays the notated pitches, only silently depresses the keys, allowing resonance. The piano resonance must be amplied: Mic both the soprano and the cello, send to speakers that are placed inside the closed piano lid, directed towards the strings Mic the soundboard from underneath the piano, send to speakers facing the audience A star with an accent beneath the pianists staff is for a Pedal Stomp. Depending on the piano, this may mean: 1) creating a percussive boom by downward force or, 2) allowing the pedal to quickly knock upwards against the mechanism before coming back down. In any case, the basic movement will be quick and loud as possible, with a percussive intent. Clusters (always black and white keys) are notated by lling in the cluster area with all black. -----Diamond noteheads in the sopranos part are always sung with an almost closed mouth, the singing equivalent of a mumble. X noteheads are always sung with un-pitched breath, the specic kind is always notated (ssss, tuhh, etc). Arrows beneath the sopranos staff refer to the direction of air, either Inhale (left-pointing arrow) or Exhale (right-pointing arrow). This applies to both singing (inward and outward) and non-pitched breathing, hissing, etc. -----X notheads in the cellists part refer to a completely (or nearly completely) pitchless sound, created by muting the strings with the left hand. -----Dashed lines connecting one part to another refer to either simultaneity (a simple vertical connection) or reaction (a vertical line which dodges slightly forward) Timing, in seconds, is to be observed naturally, never with the aid of a timekeeper.

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