for Harp and

Electronic Sounds

2013

New Church Press

www.annieneikirk.com

Anne Lockwood Neikirk

locoMotives

locoMotives
Performance Notes:

Harmonics sound an octave higher than written

Accidentals carry throughout the measure
The notation of the electronic sounds should serve as an indicator for the harp entrances and cutoffs: rhythmic
durations in the electronic notation may not be exact.
The dotted hairpins in measure 31 indicate that the chords should be plucked in the standard way at the outset and be
plucked successively closer to (and then further from) the sounding board with each successive statement.
All of the chord in m. 34 should be plucked near the sounding board.
The slap in m. 46 indicates the approximate range of strings that should be struck with the palm.
The bisbigliando at the end should slowly ritard and diminuendo until the electronic sounds end, after which the low
As should be struck.

Duration: ca. 8:15

Program Notes:
locoMotives was commissioned by and is dedicated to Elizabeth Morgan-Ellis. Liz approached me about writing this work for
her performance at the Philadelphia Fringe Arts festival. Her concert program focuses on Philadelphia composers, so I wanted
to incorporate some element of the city into my work. The germinal sound source in locoMotives is a recording of one of
Philadelphias Regional Rail trains. The familiar sound of a pitch bending as a vehicle passes, known as the Doppler effect,
became the connective element of the piece. I recorded Liz playing several pitch bends on the harp for the electronic sounds,
which mimic the Doppler effect of the train as it passed by my recording device. Other sounds in the raw audio include the
ticking noises of the lowering crossing gates at a nearby road, as well as the whoosh of the wind as the train passed by. These
sounds are all imitated in some way by the harp and augmented in the electronics. The experience of witnessing a powerful,
fast-moving object fly by elicits both excitement and fear. There is a certain thrill to seeing a train whiz by at a close range, but
not without some implication of violence or danger. I reflected this emotional content in the work. The title, locoMotives, also
lends itself to a tongue-and-cheek double entendre between the train theme and the musical terms inherent in the word: loco
for at pitch and motive for a short musical idea. Most of the melodic material in the piece is derived from the pitches inherent
in the train whistle and the crossing gates. The term loco also means crazy or insane in Spanish, which to me resonated with
the element of excitement and fear of the train hurdling by. I reflected this musically by making some equally violent and
dissonant sounds in the electronics along with extended techniques in the harp. There are also moments of peaceful repose
throughout the work, highlighting the beauty of the harp and embodying the comfort of riding in a train while watching the
landscape pass by through the window. Finally, the natural dynamic arc of a train approaching from a distance, passing by, and
fading away again is imitated in microcosm throughout the piece. Both the harp and the electronic sounds often swell from soft
to loud and back to soft dynamics. All aboard!
-Anne Neikirk

Composer Biography:
Anne Neikirk is a composer whose interests include vocal and sacred music, symmetrical modes and music in nature.
Her works have been performed throughout the United States and abroad, including Frosinone, Italy and Paris, France. She
has participated in various festivals and conferences, including the College Music Society National Conference, the North
American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference, and several regional SCI Conferences. She is an alumna of the Brevard
Music Center Summer Festival and the European American Musical Alliance Summer Composition Program. She has worked
with ensembles such as the Momenta String Quartet, the University of Delaware Percussion Ensemble, the Arneis String
Quartet, the Bowling Green State University Collegiate Chorale, and the Hamilton College Hill Singers. She has received
commissions from various solo and chamber performers as well as the Womens Sacred Music Project and Network for New
Music in Philadelphia. Anne is a recipient of the 2012 Presser Award and the Michael Iovenko Composition Fellowship. Her
song cycle YEARS LATER was chosen as one of two Region III finalists for the 2012 SCI/ASCAP Student Composition
Commission. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Temple University, where she now teaches courses in music
theory and music appreciation. She received a Master of Music degree in composition from Bowling Green State University and
a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Hamilton College. Anne is a co-founder and former president of conTemplum, Temple
Universitys student chapter of the Society of Composers, Inc. For more information, visit www.annieneikirk.com.

Commissioned by Elizabeth Morgan-Ellis

for the 2013 Philadelphia Fringe Arts Festival

locoMotives

for Elizabeth Morgan-Ellis

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