Description
An advanced solo for pedal harp, premiered by Emily Levin at Indiana University in 2012. Uses several extended techniques and is suitable for proficient college-level or graduate-level harpists.
Program Notes:
A lucid dream is one “in which one is aware that one is dreaming. In a lucid dream, the dreamer may be able to exert some degree of control over their participation within the dream or be able to manipulate their imaginary experiences in the dream environment” (Wikipedia). As the title suggests, this piece is an aural depiction of such a dream. It is cast in a flexible palindrome (ABCB’A’) form and opens with a single A-flat: this note represents the persona of the dreamer and her interactions with the surrounding dreamscape. Through “scenes” A and B, several distinct ideas float into and out of the background, gradually gaining in intensity (and in part of scene B, the dreamer recollects a warped and distorted musical quotation that many harpists, nonetheless, might recognize!). The beginning of C portrays the point of recognition, marked by thunderous tremolos and string slaps, when the dreamer realizes that she is, indeed, in a dream state. Rather than being startled awake, the dreamer, now aware that she can manipulate her imaginary environment, chooses to retrace the path previously traversed in A and B. In B’ and A’, the dreamer’s newfound powers of control are represented by the increasing dominance of A-flat as a tonal center, around which the A and B motives now revolve. Once the dreamer’s journey is complete, her dream state gradually fades away into waking consciousness.