The composer writes about the work, “Penelope’s Song was inspired by Homer’s epic, the Odyssey, which is about the travails of Odysseus...It also tells of his wife, Penelope, Queen of Ithaca, waiting for him…This piece is a tribute to her, and sings of her own adventures. The electronics were created from a recording I made of local weaver Jan Russell working on wooden looms. I processed and shaped these materials, weaving a new sonic fabric, using RTcmix, running under Linux…This version, for soprano sax and electronics, was commissioned by Susan Fancher.” She has recorded the work for Innova Records as part of her In Two Worlds collection - http://www.innova.mu/artist1.asp?skuID=360. More about the piece at http://judithshatin.com/?p=537.
Other electroacoustic works on the August 13 program are by composers Matteo De Padova, Giuseppe Iuso, Vincenzo Fiorella, Rossella Palumbo and Pasquale Patella, all from Italy’s Foggia region.
For more about information about Enzo Filippetti, visit his Italian-language website at http://www.enzofilippetti.com/.
Judith Shatin is the subject of a NewMusicBox interview with New Music USA’s Frank Oteri at http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/judith-shatin-multiple-histories/ as well as a recent American Composer article by Kyle Gann in Chamber Music magazine - http://judithshatin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Gann_American-Composer.pdf. Visit her online at http://www.judithshatin.com.