Harp of Nerves
for amplified classical guitar and orchestra
Length: ca. 22'
Instrumentation: 2(II=picc).2.2.2 - 2.2.1.1 - Timp.Perc(2) - Pno - Gtr - Strings
Availability: Direct all inquiries to hilarypurrington@gmail.com
Length: ca. 22'
Instrumentation: 2(II=picc).2.2.2 - 2.2.1.1 - Timp.Perc(2) - Pno - Gtr - Strings
Availability: Direct all inquiries to hilarypurrington@gmail.com
Program Note
Harp of Nerves (2019) is a three-movement concerto for amplified classical guitar and orchestra. Commissioned by American Composers Orchestra and written for virtuoso guitarist JIJI, Harp of Nerves is a technically challenging and highly idiomatic work that presents its listeners with a distinct and compelling musical narrative.
In the summer of 2017, American Composers Orchestra awarded me an Underwood Commission. This presented an extraordinary opportunity to pursue a challenging, ambitious project that would demand artistic risks and stretch me as a composer. I proposed writing a concerto for JIJI—a brilliant guitarist, former classmate, and close friend—and ACO’s leadership welcomed the idea. Over the next two years, I slowly and deliberately crafted the work, always considering the performers and their particular strengths. I even thought about the premiere venue, Zankel Hall (the bass drum rolls heard in the second movement, for example, are inspired by the rumbles of passing trains often heard within the space). Both American Composers Orchestra and JIJI inspired Harp of Nerves, and it wouldn’t exist without their enthusiasm, encouragement, and confidence in my artistic voice and abilities.
Before writing a single note, I carefully considered the relationship between the solo guitar and the larger ensemble, knowing that this decision would determine much of the work’s musical and dramatic content. The ensemble isn’t an accompaniment, and it doesn’t hold a dialogue with the soloist; rather, the orchestra members and the soloist are co-dependent parts of a single entity. This relationship also inspired the title—the entire ensemble becomes a kind of nervous system with its parts and connectors laid bare. Throughout the work’s three movements, the soloist functions as the body’s control center, tethered to each individual member of the orchestra. Imagining the ensemble and its individual performers in this manner determined many of my artistic choices and shaped the overarching character of the work.
In the summer of 2017, American Composers Orchestra awarded me an Underwood Commission. This presented an extraordinary opportunity to pursue a challenging, ambitious project that would demand artistic risks and stretch me as a composer. I proposed writing a concerto for JIJI—a brilliant guitarist, former classmate, and close friend—and ACO’s leadership welcomed the idea. Over the next two years, I slowly and deliberately crafted the work, always considering the performers and their particular strengths. I even thought about the premiere venue, Zankel Hall (the bass drum rolls heard in the second movement, for example, are inspired by the rumbles of passing trains often heard within the space). Both American Composers Orchestra and JIJI inspired Harp of Nerves, and it wouldn’t exist without their enthusiasm, encouragement, and confidence in my artistic voice and abilities.
Before writing a single note, I carefully considered the relationship between the solo guitar and the larger ensemble, knowing that this decision would determine much of the work’s musical and dramatic content. The ensemble isn’t an accompaniment, and it doesn’t hold a dialogue with the soloist; rather, the orchestra members and the soloist are co-dependent parts of a single entity. This relationship also inspired the title—the entire ensemble becomes a kind of nervous system with its parts and connectors laid bare. Throughout the work’s three movements, the soloist functions as the body’s control center, tethered to each individual member of the orchestra. Imagining the ensemble and its individual performers in this manner determined many of my artistic choices and shaped the overarching character of the work.
Premiere
Commissioned by American Composers Orchestra (New York, NY); premiered in November 2019. Performed and recorded by the ASU Symphony Orchestra in December 2019.
Recording
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