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Porcupine

Panayiotis Kokoras

32 views

Solo

2022

10 min.

Actor

Alto

Bass

Performer

Soprano

Tenor

Program Notes: Porcupine starts with excerpts from the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare. The recitation quickly turns into dramatic utterances that resemble various animal vocalizations. The vocalizations are not direct imitations of animal calls but an effort to bridge the differences and repetitions of this sonic world. The human becomes a horse, the chicken laughter and the song, breath. The singer uses a diaphragm mouth call, often used in hunting, to make sounds impossible with human vocal cords alone. In addition, the singer occasionally utilizes various objects or gestures, such as a dog collar, a book, or a finger snap, that blend into the musical context of the piece. Porcupine is made of fifteen continuous phases, each focusing on a different sound, vocalization, animal, and/or emotion. An ongoing metamorphosis from human to porcupine to dog, horse, and duck, among others. It ends with a howling variation of Saint-Saens' The Swan from the Carnival of the Animals , as it has been recorded by Clara Rockmore on Theremin (1976). The animal can now sing not only for mating rituals, warning calls, or dominance but because it likes it.
Ensemble Name: Ensemble Holophony Project