Il y a – memory of a word lacking

for 2 soprano, mixed ensemble, and electronics

..impersonal, anonymous, yet inextinguishable … il y a is ‘being in general' (Levinas)

..with lack, anxiety was born … what if the book were only infinite memory of a word lacking? (Jabés)

premiered by Bonnie de la Hunty (voice), Thea Rossen (percussion), Adam Lewin (bass flute), Brianna Louwen (voice), Ashley Smith (clarinets & sax), William Huxtable (violin), John Pax (conductor), Christopher Tonkin (electronics), Alex Spartalis (lights), Jared Yapp (producer)

Winner of the 2022 Bohemians Prize in Composition

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Eucalypts yearn for their stars