Memory of Absence (1994) was written for choreographer/dancer Jose Bustamante, who also narrates the text heard during the composition. The text is taken from two sources: the poem, “The Blind Man,” written by Norbert Ruebsaat, and selected excerpts from the writings of Jorge Luis Borges which concern his gradual loss of sight following an injury. The Borges texts are from two poems, “Limits” and “The Blind Man,” contained in the bookJose Luis Borges – Selected Poems, Alexander Coleman, Editor. [NY: Penguin Putman 1999] Used by permission. In performance, most of the music and some of the lighting is controlled by the dancer, using a touch sensitive dance floor/MIDI controller developed at The University of Texas at Austin. At times the floor is used extensively, controlling the sound and/or lighting very precisely; at other times, it merely triggers a section of music or a sequence of light cues, leaving the dancer free to move without restriction for a time. The musical composition begins with a solo guitar piece, which accompanies a childlike dance – a portrait of innocence and naiveté; subsequent sections explore other, more literal forms of “blindness.” The musical ideas presented in the solo guitar piece reappear at various places throughout the composition, sometimes transformed almost beyond recognition, and are intended to symbolize the character’s memories of childhood and feelings of loss.
Included on Centaur CRC 2764 CDCM Computer Music Series, Volume 34. Russell Pinkston: Four Electroacoustic Dance Suites.
