by Anahita Abbasi

The mimesis of a schizophrenic mind

Title: Distorted Attitudes III / Scattered

Music & Text: Anahita Abbasi

Duration: 11min (anticipated)

Instrumentation: bari and perc

Status: premiered

HISTORY

11/17/2021- Presented on the subspace series at Boston’s Museum of Science.

ABOUT THE WORK

The body and the psyche combat for control of emotions in a schizophrenic mind, performed by baritone Brian Church and percussionist Mike Williams.

From the composer:

“Scattered is the third piece in the Distorted Attitudes cycle. This cycle is about various perspectives and mindsets in society, some of which we would describe as distorted. Distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristics) of an object, image, sound, or waveform. Distortion is often unwanted, however, in some situations, it may be desirable. In Distorted Attitudes III / Scattered, I wanted to depict a schizophrenic mind. The singer is the physical body of the schizophrenic person, while the percussionist and the tam-tam (with its round shape) represent the psyche and consciousness of the character, embodying all the emotions, thoughts, and sounds which inhabit his mind.”

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

The music of ANAHITA ABBASI (composer of Distorted Attitudes / Scattered) has been described as “a dizzyingly sophisticated reverie, colorful and energetic” (The Guardian). Her music has been programmed at numerous festivals around the world, such as Tectonics, Southbank Centre, Darmstadt Ferienkurse, Akademie der Künste Berlin, Klangspuren, IRCAM, Klang Festival, and BIFEM. Ms. Abbasi received several awards, including a work scholarship from the Experimental studio des SWR, Freiburg (2014), a Morton Gold ASCAP young composers award (2015), a nomination for “women composers of our time” (2017) as well as the composition prize of the Acht Brücken Festival (2020). In addition to being a founding member of Schallfeld Ensemble (Austria), she is also the founding member of IFCA, Iranian Female Composers Association (US). Anahita Abbasi has studied in KUG university in Austria and worked closely with B. Furrer, P. Billone, G. Aperghis, and F. Bedrossian. Currently, she is completing her PhD in composition with Rand Steiger at the University of California San Diego. (anahitaabbasi.com)