little lovely images

Nathaniel Parks

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Duo

2022

6 min.

Amplification

Electric Guitar

Fixed Media Audio

Other

Percussion

Pitched Percussion

Strings, plucked

More Details

Program Notes: One of the difficult parts of being in your twenties, at least for me, is the constant state of transience that seems to surround everyone you know. This was amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic, which started during the final months of my master’s degree. So many of my friends left for spring break and just, never came back. No goodbyes, no ceremony, just gone. I’ve thought about this strange disappearing act pretty consistently for the past few years and the ever-changing carousel of new faces that have seemed to rotate through my life. The idea for little lovely images grew out of this experience. I’ve lived in Baltimore for the past four years, and while this place has developed a fairly specific meaning to me, I wanted to hear what it meant to some of the people I met while living here. The three people you’ll hear speaking in this piece are three of my closest friends from Baltimore: Mara Yaffee, an early music singer and former roommate of mine, Alicia Hurtado, an opera singer and another former roommate, and Bobby Ge, a fellow composer from my time at Peabody. Ultimately, little lovely images is a reflection on trust, transience, and the joys of place. It’s a love letter to my friends and a thank you note for the ways that they too, have shaped this place for me.
Recording Notes: Premiered 2022 at the Walden School Creative Musicians Retreat. Guitar: Dan Lippel Vibraphone: Kyle Flens Voices (in order of appearance): Mara Yaffee, Alicia Hurtado, Bobby Ge
Ensemble Name: Dan Lippel (electric guitar), Kyle Flens (vibraphone), Mara Yaffee, Ash Hurtado, Bobby Ge (voice)