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The Labor of Thought, for alto flute, Bb clarinet, marimba, violin, cello, and contrabass

from Selected Works by David S. Carter

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"The Labor of Thought" most prominently features the violin and marimba – each has a soloistic turn above isorhythmic chords in the other instruments as well as a solo cadenza – and in this sense the piece is not a balanced one. Yet the underlying chords could exist on their own as static objects without the expressive energy of the violin and marimba solos – they are less an accompaniment than an environment.

Ultimately the two winds and low strings become animated and take on some of the characteristics of the violin and marimba solos, assuming the “labor” previously engaged in by the violin and marimba: in the process, these other instruments largely abandon their neutral, interchangeable character and become individualized timbral actors. By the same token, the closing marimba solo takes on some of the static, object-like characteristics earlier manifested by the isorhythmic chords, achieving to some degree the labor-less condition depicted by Wallace Stevens:

“It is there, being imperfect, and with these things
And erudite in happiness, with nothing learned,
That we are joyously ourselves and we think

Without the labor of thought . . .”

(Wallace Stevens, “Of Bright & Blue Birds & the Gala Sun”)

credits

from Selected Works, track released September 15, 2010
Recorded by the Callithumpian Consort, March 30, 2010

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David S. Carter Los Angeles, California

David S. Carter is a composer and teacher based in Los Angeles, California. He teaches as an Assistant Professor of Music (Theory/Composition) at Loyola Marymount University. He earned his doctorate in music composition at Northwestern University. His principal composition teachers have been Lee Hyla, Jay Alan Yim, Aaron Travers, and Jonathon Grasse. ... more

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