Jeremy Beck (VS) : Under the Bright Lights (1995/2002)

Notes by the composer :
"... 'Under the Bright Lights' is a re-composition of a short excerpt taken from a much longer work [of his], 'Black Water' (1995). It is a complete movement in itself and makes musical sense as an extract. This particular excerpt is from Part II of 'Black Water', in which the drowning woman hallucinates, believing she has been rescued. While this is a theatrical piece, it is meant to be a work which is not quite in the character of either an opera or a song cycle. The soprano's role may be seen as being related to that of an ancient Greek poet, who sang epic poems to an audience, using the music as a means to further communicate the theatrical nature of the story. 'Under the Bright Lights' was composed for the members of ELECTRA, as part for their 'Secret loves...' project.

Jeremy Beck ..."

Text (based on Joyce Carol Oates's novella 'Black Water') :

Thank God!
They¹ve gotten me out!
- go go go go -
Sirens blaring:
Out of the way!
Out of the way!
Quickly - go!
To the bright lights!
In the emergency room -
Pump out the water
All the black water
So cold.
The muck and the sewage.
The icy mud.
All of it out!
A horrible black hose
Shoved down my throat
By a stranger.
Scraping my throat,
Choking me -
No - pain -
Sucking the poison out,
Poisonous venom,
Black water
Out of my stomach
Out of my veins
Quickly -
In a matter of seconds, of minutes
It¹s over!
I¹m here!
Under the bright lights
With strangers,
Cheating Death!

JEREMY BECK (b. 1960) has an extensive catalogue of works for varying orchestral, chamber and vocal forces. His opera "The Biddle Boys and Mrs. Soffel" was named by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as one of the Top Ten Cultural Events in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the year 2001. Another of his operas, "The Highway," was presented by New York City Opera as a part of that company's Showcasing American Composers series in May of 2000. Beck has earned awards, grants and honors from the American Composers Orchestra, California Arts Council, the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Composers Forum, Millay Colony for the Arts (NY), Meet the Composer, Wellesley Composers Conference, Oregon Bach Festival, Iowa Arts Council and the American Music Center. Recordings of his music may be heard on the Capstone, ERM, Vienna Modern Masters, New Ariel and Living Artist labels; in May of 2003, he recorded a new CD of his orchestra music with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra in Bratislava. Formerly tenured on the faculties of California State University, Fullerton and the University of Northern Iowa, Beck holds degrees from the Yale University School of Music (D.M.A., M.M.A.), Duke University (M.A.) and the Mannes College of Music (B.Sci.). He currently is based in Louisville, Kentucky.

Website : www.beckmusic.org