What if I just said…
Publication: What if I just said…
Composer: Carl Faia
Date of composition: 1998
Duration: 60 seconds
Commission: Guy Livingston
Instrumentation: Piano and electronics
Premiere: Guy Livingstone in Paris, France American University, the December 1999.
Commercial recording: Don’t Panic • 60 Seconds For Piano (WERGO – WER 6649 2)
Score: What if I just said…
Audio for playback (stereo): What if I just said… (zip)
I wrote this for Guy Livingston while I was working at Ircam in Paris. I recorded his voice and used various techniques of analysis and resynthesis to make most of the sounds for the electronics. Everything else comes from the piano itself.
Review of the album: Anyone who doubts new piano music is alive, healthy, and thriving need only investigate Don’t Panic!, a collection of 60 one-minute-maximum works by 60 composers from 18 countries. Pianist Guy Livingston instigated the project, and you could hardly find a more affable and imaginative performer to do justice to such a wide stylistic and emotional range of music. I had the good fortune to hear Livingston perform selections from Don’t Panic! on a dinky upright piano in a tiny New York nightclub, of all places. The sheer fun, enthusiasm, and fearless virtuosity he brought to the music totally comes across on disc, abetted by splendid engineering and, of course, a beautiful grand piano.