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Ida, My Dear

1995 • 13 minutes • Instrumental theatre for trumpet/actor and tape. (Text by Gertrude Stein)

Ida, My Dear draws its inspiration from two sources: the novelette 'Ida' (1937) by Gertrude Stein and the composition 'Ruby, My Dear' by Thelonius Monk. The melancholic mood of much of the piece derives from Monk's purposely 'awkward' style of playing and from the anti-heroic 'heroine' of Stein's story, who does very little but 'manages to fill her day'. The interaction of the trumpet and tape and of the live and spoken voices are intended to create a musical character as mysterious and enigmatic and Stein's Ida. The spoken voice on the tape is that of Waterloo mezzo-soprano Anne-Marie Donovan.

The work was commissioned by Guy Few through the assistance of the Ontario Arts Council. The text 'Ida' by Gertrude Stein is used with the permission of the Estate of Gertrude Stein.

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