Fever
For eight trumpets and pre-record
Earth has been suffering from THSD (Toxic Homo Sapiens Disorder).
She had it under control
Just the occasional flare-up
But recently it’s been causing a fever
The doctor assures her THSD will eventually burn itself out
But it’ll be unpleasant for a while
Ancient trumpets may have been a way to call to nature, to connect to other creatures, to tell stories about nature and human experience, to signal to other humans, to come together and communicate. Maybe, as Marco Blaauw hypothesises, early trumpet-like instruments might have been a sonic answer to the natural noises people heard around them, or even a loud expression to process trauma. We continue to do all these things through making music, tell stories, reach out to others, create social encounters and rituals, tell of our despair and hope. Fever for me is an answer to the noises we are surrounded by in the early 21st century, the noises that are a sonic marker of our destructive human ways. A call for hope of reconnecting to each other and our fellow creatures, to find a way to live with our environment, not against it.
Commissioned by hcmf// and The Monochrome Project
Performer at hcmf// 2024 and Maerz Music 2026
Broadcast on BBC Radio 3 New Music Show
Excerpt from score
The Monochrome Project at Maerz Music in Berlin