Works by Linda Dusman

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O Star Spangled Stripes (2008) for piano and percussion

I was inspired by the e.e. cummings poem “next to of course god America i” as I composed O Star Spangled Stripes, which begins from parodies of American patriotic songs (including Stars and Stripes Forever, Johnny Comes Marching Home, It’s a Grand Old Flag, and The Star Spangled Banner). In the piece, I created a system for progressing through the musical material based in oppositional ideas of “democracy” and “advancing freedom,” two terms touted by the Bush administration as hallmarks of US foreign policy. “Democracy” in its Greek origins translates loosely to “people working together,” while “advancing freedom” seems to me to be completely individualistic, perhaps even narcissistic, in pursuing a definition of freedom with disregard for others. To begin the piece, each player decides whether he will begin by cooperating with the other player (“true democracy”), or by disregarding the other player—exhibiting a self-involved narcissism (”advancing freedom”). The performers change their modes of ensemble playing asynchronously throughout the piece, and, in an ultimately non-utopian gesture, create a chaotic mix reflecting the American political system and its impact on world events.

An Unsubstantial Territory (2008) for flute and piano

An Unsubstantial Territory is dedicated to the inHale Duo (Lisa Cella and Jane Rigler), who premiered the work in 2008. Its color and texture were inspired by sunsets on Folly’s Cove in Cape Ann, Massachusetts, and by the following passage from Virginia Woolf’s The Waves:

“But when we sit close together,…we melt into each other with phrases. We are edged with mist. We make an unsubstantial territory.”

States (2004) Four short pieces for piano

States was commissioned by the Summer Institute for Contemporary Piano Performance at New England Conservatory, Stephen Drury, Director, in 2002. The pieces are intended as tone studies for the early advanced pianist, and explore some contemporary notation techniques while reflecting on states of mind in adolescence.

magnificat 3: lament (2004) for solo violin and electronics

Notes:
from the composer:

This composition is the third in a series of works that began as a reflection on the Virgin Mary’s text: “My soul doth magnify the lord,” but which were interrupted by world events beginning with September 11. I realized that magnificat 3 was a lament late one night when I was working on the piece and my 8-year-old son woke screaming from a nightmare in which “the war in Iraq came here.” After I got him settled I realized how much world events had been weighing on me. I imagined how much worse, and more frequent, must be the nightmares of the children in Iraq, whose parents cannot shelter them from the constant violence there. “magnificat 3” in the end is a lament for all children who are victims of violence.

magnificat 2: still (2003) for clarinet and piano

magnificat 2: still is the second in a series of reflections on the unison, in music and in life. This piece, composed for the Tanosaki-Richards Duo, establishes a continuum of relationships between the clarinet and the piano, from the most distant to the closest, as the players ultimately take over one another’s instruments. As such the piece becomes a metaphor for the long-term relationship, one in which we desire the simple perfection, the stillness, of union while struggling with the repetitions and tensions of daily life.

magnificat 1: variations (2001) for alto flute, bass clarinet, and marimba

from the composer:

I composed magnificat 1, a set of continuous variations of a unison melodic line, to celebrate the founding of UMBC’s resident contemporary music ensemble Ruckus. One of the inspirations for the piece is the Virgin Mary’s opening phrase of her song to Elizabeth: “My soul doth magnify the Lord,” in which she recognizes her soul not as the essence of herself, but as a lens for something much greater. The events of September 11 also resonate in this work, as I had devoted that day to composing this piece. I sat in shock in front of the television that day reminded that terrorists also imagine their souls as lenses of God, with devastating results. So magnificat 1 also incorporates the surreal state of the fall of 2001: a yearning for clarity amidst twists of distortion.

Elio: Visions of Light (1985) for soprano, flute, cello, piano, and percussion.

Elio: Visions of Light is a setting of fragments of poetry by the Greek lyric poet Sappho.

Elio: Visions of Light II (1985) for soprano solo with optional hand drum.

Elio: Visions of Light II is a setting of fragments of poetry by the Greek lyric poet Sappho. It was arranged from the original Elio: Visions of Light from 1985 by request from the Serbian soprano Ana Spasic.