The Underside of Green

1994

Program Note

the underside of green (1994) „At this juncture we ought to say something about lights and colours. It is evident that colours vary according to light, as every colour appears different when in shade, and placed under rays of light. Shade makes a colour dimmer, and light makes it brighter and clear. Colour is swallowed by the dark.“ Loeon Battista Alberti: On painting (1435) „Emerald, Ruby, Jacinth, Chalcedony, Jasper. Colour, like these jewels, is precious. Even more precious, it cannot be possessed. Colour slips through the fingers and escapes. You can´t lock it in a jewel box as it vanishes in the dark.“ Derek Jarman: Chroma (1994) the underside of green, CRIMSON – Molly´s Song 1 (1995) and Molly´s Song 3 – shades of crimson (1996) make up a cycle of compositions that were influenced by Molly Bloom´s closing monologue in James Joyce´s Ulysses. This relentless and intense monologue flows unpunctuated for 35 pages: „…and O that awful deepdown torrent O and the sea the sea crimson sometimes like fire and the glorious sunsets and …yes …“

About Rebecca Saunders

British-born Rebecca Saunders is one of the leading international composers of her generation. Her compositions focus on the sculptural and spatial properties of organised sound, often created in close collaborative…

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