For voice, saxophone, percussion, bass and video projection. Premiered by Becca Stuhlbarg at the University of California, Santa Cruz. 15 minutes, 42 seconds.

See score as PDF (right or control-click to download)

I’ve always loved the simplicity and economy of haiku. So when Becca first commissioned this piece, one of my first thoughts was to set a series of haiku. I wanted to work from within my own cultural context, and so after many coffee stained printouts and dogeared paperbacks, I found the five perfect texts. As successful haiku, of course, these words need nothing added to them to make them work. On the contrary – my challenge was to create a setting that enriched the meaning of each haiku without diluting it. My response was to hang a fragmented narrative on the emotional shards of each haiku with the video, ambient sound and music. Lost and Found narrates the ongoing loss and discovery of our selves in the tempest of life.

ONE:
not the autumn i expected.

TWO:
abandon cabin       gone       abandon cabin       gone

THREE:
no one
can find me
i am lost

FOUR:
in the temple
a
heartbeat

FIVE:
deep inside you       no more war

[Credits: 1. Marlene Mountain; 2. Marlene Mountain; 3. Michael Rehling; 4. Bob Boldman; 5. Dietmar Tauchner.]