Atlantis

for theremin and amplified classical guitar played with slide bar (2007)
duration: 7′

Video conceived, filmed and edited by Lothar Osterburg
Elizabeth Brown, theremin; Ben Verdery, amplified classical guitar (guitar by Gary Lee), played with slide bar

 

Performed by Elizabeth Brown, theremin; Ben Verdery, amplified classical guitar (guitar by Gary Lee), played with slide bar
From Elizabeth Brown: Mirage New World 80751-2

 


Premiere performance, Yale School of Music summer program at Norfolk, 2007


program note

Atlantis (2007) for theremin and amplified classical guitar, was written for guitarist Ben Verdery, with whom I performed the premiere on June 16th, 2007, at the Yale Summer School of Music in Norfolk. To write this piece, I borrowed a guitar and played it so much that I blistered all my fingers. While I waited for them to heal, I experimented with using a metal slide on the fingerboard, and fell in love with the underwater sound created when the slide constantly wobbled a little bit. It reminded me of my artist husband Lothar’s ongoing quest to find Atlantis, and also brought the guitar into the theremin’s sound world.