Glamorama Spies

Glamorama Spies for flute, clarinet, violin, violoncello and piano is a chamber-music work by Italian composer Lorenzo Ferrero, written in 1999.

Glamorama Spies
by Lorenzo Ferrero
GenreChamber music
PublisherCasa Ricordi
Recorded2002 (2002) Sentieri Selvaggi (CD recording. Sensible Records) 2006 (2006) Sentieri Selvaggi (CD recording. Cantaloupe Music)
Duration6 mins.
Premiere
Date2000
LocationTeatro Manzoni, Milan
ConductorCarlo Boccadoro
PerformersSentieri Selvaggi

Overview

The composition was commissioned by Sentieri Selvaggi and first performed by them at the Teatro Manzoni in the year 2000. The American premiere took place in Houston on 17 February 2014.[1]

Glamorama Spies was inspired by Bret Easton Ellis' 1998 satire novel Glamorama.

In Galamorama by Bret Easton Ellis, the main character is constantly spied on and, even before his consciousness becomes aware of it, he is constantly in an anxious state. Anxiolytics and some romantic intervals are not enough to stop the sensation that he is always late for something and that he is progressively losing his sense of reality. I was reading this book when Sentieri Selvaggi asked me for this piece and going from reading to writing seemed almost inevitable. Therefore, if at times you feel some hints at emotion, think about the second to the last sentence of the book: "The stars are real."[2]

— Lorenzo Ferrero

Analysis

The piece consists of a single movement lasting around six minutes, written in a chromatic and dissonant idiom. The opening section begins with a semitonal "anxiety" theme and ostinato figures atop an ostinato bass line, marked by off-beat bass accents. A lyrical section follows in which these elements gradually move to the background while a gentle, contrapuntal "sentimental" theme emerges in the cello. The exchange between the two contrasting main themes is interrupted from time to time by dramatic chords on the piano, representing the point of view of the protagonist. The final section recapitulates some of the thematic material of the first section. At the end, the tension subsides, leaving room for ethereal harmonies and a conclusive ending.

Discography

In chronological order of recording:

  • 2002. Bad Blood. Sentieri Selvaggi. CD recording. Sensible Records.[3]
  • 2006. AC/DC. Sentieri Selvaggi. CD recording. Cantaloupe Music.[4]

Notes
  1. "American premiere, 2014".
  2. "AC/DC, Sentieri Selvaggi". Cantaloupe Music.
  3. "Sentieri Selvaggi website". Archived from the original on 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  4. "Sentieri Selvaggi website". Archived from the original on 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2016-05-11.

References
  • Borsari, Bruno, ed. (2006). 20 anni di musica insieme. Bologna: Pendragon. ISBN 978-8883425073
  • Mandel, Naomi, ed. (2010). Bret Easton Ellis: American Psycho, Glamorama, Lunar Park. New York: Continuum. ISBN 978-0826435620
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