Sevenroughs

Sevenroughs is a piece I spent many months thinking about, but then only a few days writing. Last spring when I decided to do a recital of all American composers, I wanted to do something of my own on the program. I wrestled many many weeks over many many different drafts of pieces, including 12-tone and 'intuitive' composition methods, using many different combinations of instruments, and utilizing texts ranging from Naked Lunch to My Education. I knew I wanted to use a Burroughs text, but wasn't sure how to go about it.

Then Burroughs passed away, and I turned to The Western Lands.

Sevenroughs is my personal tribute to Burroughs. The techniques contained within the piece range from reading and improvised rhythms to extended vocal techniques and experimental notation in the tradition of John Cage. Though it was originally written for four voices, it can be performed by three, and this is how it is regularly performed by Comma.

The piece is based on parts of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and the excerpt from The Western Lands (which is the same excerpt Burroughs uses on Bill Laswell's Material album Seven Souls) that appears above and on the following pages.

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