DAVID LANG ARK LUGGAGE
FOR SOPRANO AND STRING QUARTET
FULL SCORE
CopyrightbyRicordiNewYork
© 2012 by Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. RNY 1011 ISMN 979-0-041-61011-5
Warning : Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited by Federal law, and subject to criminal prosecution.
ark luggage
for soprano and string quartet
note
In 2005 I did a project with the English artist and filmmaker Peter Greenaway, call ed writing on water. It was a kind of circus, with live calligraphy, live multi-screen video and film projection on four screens that surrounded the stage, and the London Sinfonietta. I enjoyed it a lot. What I enjoyed the most, however, was the beautiful libretto that Peter had crafted out of fragmentary descriptions of sea travel and shipwrecks from The Tempest, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and Moby Dick. This text was so moving to me that I asked Peter if he would write me another one, this time possibly on a religious subject, or at least somehow related to an old testament theme. Ark Luggage was the text he sent me, a list of 92 things Noah took along with him during the flood. The way I interpreted this text was to notice how Peter shows the confidence Noah has in packing for his life after the flood, confident about his survival past the catastrophe. The act of packing these suitcases itself becomes a statement of faith, and a simple list becomes a kind of prayer.
ark luggage was commissioned by Glasgow Concert Halls and was written for Else Torp and the Smith Quartet, who premiered it 24 March 2012, in Glasgow, Scotland
the duration is approximately 9 minutes
ark luggage is dedicated to Else Torp
ARK LUGGAGE
A LIST OF 92 SUITCASES NOAH TOOK TO ARARAT
92 Suitcases for the Flood Luggage for a Flood Journey
1
drinking water, black & white smoke, & ice.
red ribbons.
rope, coal & ashes, sand & earth.
horse-shoes, twenty Gouda cheeses.
candles, lightbulbs, tulip bulbs, locks & keys.
fresh linen, clean sheets, warm underwear.
clear alcohol (for medicinal purposes), new and old boots for walking the deck, boot-laces, fish-hooks for fish on Fridays.
2.
potatoes, swedes, carrots for seeing in the dark, turnips, coins and buttons, bread, buns for the elephants. cook- books, tobacco (for chewing). safety-pins.
brushes for painting, brushes for sweeping, brushes for cleaning your teeth.
green apples, hens’ eggs, blood & ink, bottles for sending messages. jokes.
red roses, gold paint for celebrations, old testament bibles, spoons, forks, clean saucepans, tomatoes for making tomato sauce, toys for amusing the children in case there should be any, dolls (ditto). CopyrightbyRicordiNewYork
clocks & calendars, colanders, mousetraps & rat-traps, passports, lemons, bricks. flea-powder, antimacassars.
needles, navigational maps, iodine & medicines.
a hebrew - dutch - hebrew dictionary.
spectacles, sharpened pencils, buttons & string, combs for women and horses, scissors.
hay, cannon- balls (for ballast only), firewood, instruments to measure by.
board-games for passing the long evenings, zoo animals in miniature for reminding us of what is being saved.
feathers for soft pillows, bones for dogs, umbrellas.
parrot seed, honey, red yarn.
sou’westers, a new toilet-seat, mirrors, gloves, thread, & onions.
soap and washing powder, aspirin.
flags & banners & bunting, wings & stars. champagne.
place-names for new towns and villages. & songs, & some music for rejoicing, & thank you letters to God and the angels, & white beach pebbles to edge the borders of my new garden.
CopyrightbyRicordiNewYork
oddly flowing, but very peaceful like floating on the sea words by peter greenaway music by david lang
spoken by the soprano: "Ark Luggage; A list of 92 suitcases Noah took to Ararat."
L
========================= & 3 4 q = 80