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LUCINDA LUVAAS. . .
Music
These albums were originally composed for either groups of paintings in the body of work called "the Human Chorus," or for one painting. ("The Sound of Wings" was composed for the painting: "Flight: Meditations on Amelia.")
I've been involved with music much of my life. In elementary school, I played second flute in the band. In high school, I was in the Chorus and the Madrigal group. I played the guitar most of my life, studied classical, jazz and folk, wrote a lot of songs, gave guitar lessons in NYC. When I was in summer stock in North Conway, NH, I performed and sang on the stage and there were other opportunities to perform along the way.
It has been a long standing dream of mine to compose for multiple instruments, for orchestra--to go beyond composing for voice. Now, with the advent of new technologies, I can compose on the keyboard, and edit, using a digital software application on my computer. Each piece takes me a number of months to finish.
It's very exciting and stimulating to base musical compositions on actual artwork(s). This gives my music a very definitive focal point and it also is interesting for gallery goers: to hear and see variations on a theme--all at once.
The first composition in this series is "Western Strings." The sound is based on a group of paintings dealing with outlaws--the "bad guys/gals" and "good guys/gals" that populated the West during the Bodie days with people like Jesse James, Belle Starr and Billy the Kid.
l owe much and am very thankful to Aaron Copland, who wrote the very best music on this subject. "Western Strings" is 34+ minutes in length.
"The Sound of Wings" is a composition that deals with the subject of Amelia Earhart: flying, exhaltation, the sense of incredible freedom in the sky, and the fear of death, and a failing mission. This piece was great fun to compose because of the subject matter and my own respect for Amelia Earhart. "The Sound of Wings" is 30 minutes in length.
"Carnival" deals with the spirit of Carnival and County Fairs, historically: referring to one of Goya's paintings; and currently, in Europe, New Orleans, Southern California: the Del Mar Fair, and others. It is 30+ minutes in length.
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