︎︎︎Official Music Video
In Search of the Miraculous
Lola Bean Constantino
7m 57s
Cello Sextet
performers
Aaron Dantzler, Cello 1
Katie Coppola, Cello 2
Brandon Cheng, Cello 3
Kerrie Liang, Cello 4
Daniel Wey, Cello 5
Jeremy Cha, Cello 6
Performance Notes
In the summer of 1975, performance artist, Bas Jan Ader, set sail across the North Atlantic in a 13 ft pocket cruiser. Almost a year later, his boat was found empty off the coast of Ireland, Ader disappeared without a trace.
What’s interesting about Ader’s disappearance is that his previous works explore the state between life and death; his series of “fall” photographs capture the moments before he crashes to the ground after a dangerous stunt. There is a sense of absolute freedom in these works; a moment of weightlessness.
When I learned of his disappearance I thought it was quite a poetic end. He exists in the in-between, never confirmed dead or alive. I translated this idea into a cello sextet which recreates the state of being “in-between” through the use of different scales and microtones. The piece opens with whole-tone scales, then it moves to octatonic, chromatic, and eventually microtonal passages.
My idea of shrinking the distance between notes parallels Ader’s ability to capture the state of existence between life and death. The Miraculous is the microtone which is the tonal destination the piece moves towards.
Lola Bean Constantino
7m 57s
Cello Sextet
performers
Aaron Dantzler, Cello 1
Katie Coppola, Cello 2
Brandon Cheng, Cello 3
Kerrie Liang, Cello 4
Daniel Wey, Cello 5
Jeremy Cha, Cello 6
Performance Notes
In the summer of 1975, performance artist, Bas Jan Ader, set sail across the North Atlantic in a 13 ft pocket cruiser. Almost a year later, his boat was found empty off the coast of Ireland, Ader disappeared without a trace.
What’s interesting about Ader’s disappearance is that his previous works explore the state between life and death; his series of “fall” photographs capture the moments before he crashes to the ground after a dangerous stunt. There is a sense of absolute freedom in these works; a moment of weightlessness.
When I learned of his disappearance I thought it was quite a poetic end. He exists in the in-between, never confirmed dead or alive. I translated this idea into a cello sextet which recreates the state of being “in-between” through the use of different scales and microtones. The piece opens with whole-tone scales, then it moves to octatonic, chromatic, and eventually microtonal passages.
My idea of shrinking the distance between notes parallels Ader’s ability to capture the state of existence between life and death. The Miraculous is the microtone which is the tonal destination the piece moves towards.
︎︎︎Custom Vibrato Notation
