programme note

lexis (i) (2023) calls for a human response to language. The score, a dichroic invitation; to react, to respond, to rebel. Bridging the gap between guide and communicator, the ‘oracle’ nestled at the heart of the work recites passages developed from mesostic poems – themselves embedded with a multiplicity of potential meanings. Surrounding voices then emerge, attempting to discern meaning from one another’s emanations and elisions, finding solace in moments of synergy, found not because language, but in spite of it. 

Language, in its most basic form, is about communication. The ‘lexis’, its totality, taking into account all its forms, fabrications, inferences, and iterations. A paradox; a subversion!



*Note: The work is also available in an audio score format with multiple versions – a pre-recorded ‘ORACLE’ can be used if desired. This is played over stereo loudspeakers, and can be manipulated by performer(s) in real time. The cues for each scene can be arranged in any desired order. Use the contact page to receive the files for the score.