Text & Poetry in Contemporary Sound Art by Richard Cameron-Wolfe
When words and music unite, a unique alchemy is possible – each element amplifying and transmuting the other to yield a deeper aesthetic experience. Taos composer-pianist Richard Cameron-Wolfe discusses this on two levels: in the titling of his purely instrumental compositions [for example, The Bridge of Souls, Burning Questions, Code of Unsilence, Antoinette with Cat and Cigarette, and Lapis Lazuli] and the integration of audible text in his vocal music (sung or spoken), using recorded examples from his own compositions. For example, he has created musical environments incorporating the poetry of Antonin Artaud, W. S. Merwin, Bill Knott, Lao Tsu, and Teresa of Avila, as well as his own. Note: This event also serves as a de facto CD release party, and copies of his newly released CD (shown above) will be available for purchase. Cameron-Wolfe has permanently resided in Taos since 2002. However, he discovered the town in early summer of 1974, serendipitously meeting local composer Noel Farrand and on the very next day performing the piano music of Dane Rudhyar on Farrand’s Harwood Library American Music lecture. Later that summer, he, Farrand, and local gallery owner Harold Geller created the organization Friends of American Music. He returned in 1976 for the first of several Wurlitzer residencies, in 1978 became a founding co-director of the New Mexico Music Festival and returned in 1984 to serve as General Director of Music from Angel Fire.