Handshake: A Scherzo (2008)
for solo soprano, Pierrot ensemble, large percussion | 06:00
by Melissa Dunphy | text by Anonymous
For soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion (timpani, tam-tam, slapstick).
Handshake was composed in homage to the earlier sounds of the Information Age: the dissonant, dual-tone multi frequency (DTMF) sounds on a touch-tone telephone that we all pressed to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb as kids; dial tones and off-hook warnings; the infamous Captain Crunch 2600Hz whistle; the "handshake" of a 56K modem connecting to the Internet, which was usually the first sound I heard in the morning throughout the 1990's (I referred to it as "my song"). These much-loved sounds are wrapped rhythmically and harmonically in the ubiquitous sequence of powers of two, and packaged with lyrics from the "Lorem Ipsum" -- dummy text used for hundreds of years in print publishing, but now most commonly found on websites in development.
Artwork by Matt Dunphy.
Performances
- 07 Oct, 2022: DePauw University at Kresge Auditorium at the Green Center for the Performing Arts, Greencastle, IN
- 12 Feb, 2022: Helix Ensemble at Shindell Choral Hall, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
- 02 Apr, 2017: Arcana New Music Ensemble at Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA
- 04 Mar, 2011: Anti-Social Music at Zoraspace, Park Slope, NY
- 06 Feb, 2009: Melissa Dunphy, Sarabeth Taber-Miller, Jordan Hale, David Brown, Shannon Rafferty, Chrissy McHugh, David Trum, Daniel Paul Lawson at Gates Recital Hall, West Chester University, PA