Penelope's Song (cello version)
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Accompanying Electronics
- Composed
- 2006
- Duration
- 9'2''
- Publisher
- Wendigo Music (composer's imprint)
Purchase or download
About this piece
A piece for amplified cello and fixed electronic playback that pays tribute to Penelope from Homer's Odyssey, who unravelled each night the shroud she wove by day to hold off her suitors. Shatin made the electronic track from recordings of Charlottesville weaver Jan Russell at her wooden looms, and the music follows the weaving, Penelope's brooding and the nightly unravelling to an explosive end. First written for viola (premiered 2003), it now exists for six solo instruments; this version was made for cellist Maxine Neuman, who premiered it at Symphony Space in New York. Performance needs light amplification of the cello, stereo speakers and a way to play the soundtrack, which comes as a .wav file with the score; an optional companion video by Kathy Aoki and Marco Marquez is available.
Technical overview
No technical overview is available yet.