New piece under Audio – here’s the program notes.

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I watch way too much television. Unfortunately, in the course of my channel surfing, I have occasionally come across various idiots ranting about how the country has been changed and how they want to take it back – usually to an idealized version of how they believe the ‘50’s were. In other words, a time when women stayed at home, illegal immigrants were soviet defectors, and everyone voted republican because they were told to on Sunday morning in church. Basically an idiotic “precious moments” or Thomas Kinkade piece of emotional treacle meant to depict a just-post-agrarian Utopia.

Unfortunately, I also read books – including those damn history ones that people are always complaining about. As a result, I’m well aware of the fact that while Norman Rockwell was painting his covers for the Saturday Evening Post a few minor events were happening vis a vis civil rights era violence and oppression, assassinations, and several wars. With that in mind, I composed Pastorale Americanusa as a confrontation between the imagined nostalgia with the historical reality. So while light and soothing music and sounds of summer capitalism may be present, the menacing background leaves no doubt that the fantasy is in perpetual danger of collapsing under the weight of reality.