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Alvin Curran

For Cornelius - Era Ora

ERA ORA ( a common italian phrase meaning “ It’s about time” ) was originally composed for a duo piano concert given by Ursula Oppens and Anthony Davis in the Spring of 1985. For this recording i decided to revise the piece completely and while retaining the basic ideas of the first and last parts, i composed an entirely new middle section.

The three large sections here are more contiguos and interconnected than those in FOR CORNELIUS, and to some extent they are more complex. After an opening citation of the last eight bars of the folk song I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, the two pianos branch out playing the exact same music at slightly different times and with very few points of coordination between them.

The overall structure leads to a gradual tranquilization of the sustained high energy generated in the first twenty minutes of the work. A genuine piece of slow - music, typical of much of my earlier music, results.

Alvin Curran