All My Dreams are Silent for flute and fixed media (2010)

This is a three movement work for ethnic flute soloist and fixed electronics. Each movement is based on a dream that I remember (I rarely remember dreams). This is a live performance done by Laura Patterson at Electronic Music Midwest in 2010.

1. Spider
The first dream I remember was when I was 5 or 6 years old. Everything was seen from the perspective of my own eyes: I was in the dark, hearing a light but sloppy chewing noise. I asked “What are you doing?” and a voice said “Eating your hair.” I asked “Who are you?” and the voice replied, quite dramatically, “A SPIDER!” I awoke screaming and have never heard sound in my dreams since. I can still recall the sounds of chewing and the spider’s voice with crystal clear accuracy.

2. in love with…
I was in love with a well-known actress. While I have never met this woman in real life, the love that the two of us had for each other was amazingly strong and as real as anything I’ve ever felt. In the dream, we had been apart from each other for some blurry reason and most of the dream centered around the anticipation of being together at last. When I awoke, the feeling of love for this woman remained for several hours. Sometimes, I can still feel it.

3. Kris Turns White
My wife was lying in our bed. The covers were pulled up to her shoulders. She was lying backwards, that is to say that her head was at the foot of the bed, even though the bed was in its normal orientation. I thought Kris was telling me that she was comfortable (I couldn’t understand her and kept askind her to repeat what she was saying). I leaned in closer and realized she was telling me that she was UN-comfort- able. Her expression changed and a whiteness started rising upwards from her shoulders. I knew it was spreading across her whole body. Overcome with panic, I turned and ran but tripped immediately. I woke as the world suddenly tipped and I hit the floor.