Work
Numena
for harp and prerecorded sound
About
Numena is a sonic commingling of human and nonhuman. The work's compositional process thus focused on blurring boundaries between instrument and audio, in seeking to create the illusion of an haecceity (a singular material entity) or, to use a more contemporary term, a meta-instrument. This is not a purely formal concern; regarded figuratively, the piece is animistic, in the sense that the harp itself can be considered as the numena (local god or presiding deity) governing the sounding flow. Written for and premiered by the harpist Catriona MacKay at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, June 17th 2000.
Commissioned note
Written for and premiered by the harpist Catriona MacKay at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, June 17th 2000
Performance history
17 Jun 2000: Premiered by harpist Catriona MacKay at Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, June 17th 2000