Paola Prestini
Photo by Erika Harrsch

Also posted on ETHEL's Blog

The Italian born composer Paola Prestini has been an inspiration to me for many years. Our paths first crossed at the Juilliard School, back in the 1990s. Her collective ensemble, VisionIntoArt (VIA), served in some ways as a model for my own composers' collective, Ne(x)tworks.

Although we have only started collaborating recently, I have admired her multimedia projects since our Juilliard days, and I am thrilled to be working with her this season. Back in November ETHEL joined with VIA for 21c Liederabend, an amazing celebration of recent vocal music that was listed on Time Out New York's "Best of 2009" list!

This winter/spring I'll be performing twice in Paola's series, VisionIntoArt: Ferus, at Galapagos Art Space: On February 24th I'll be playing the music from my CD Dream Streets, and on April 2 I'll be joining in a performance of her chamber opera, Oceanic Verses.

At the end of this interview, Paola outlines her ideas about the collaborative process.


Dufallo: Can you discuss a few of your musical influences?

Prestini: I listen to a wide variety of music, yet I have noticed that lyrics and text are often my point of entry. Pieces that have formed lasting impressions are the motets of Palestrina and Victoria, and Giacomo Carissimi's oratorio Jephte (specifically the final grand chorus, "Plorate Filii Israël"—one of the most gorgeous examples of choral writing). I admire the clean, instrumental approach to the voice, and the drama that recitative passages evoke in the baroque style.

Glass’s use of speech in Einstein on the Beach (specifically the "Prematurely Air-Conditioned Supermarket” section) is one of the most enlightened uses of spoken text performance I have heard. The repetition in text allows the voice’s color and rhythm to serve successfully as counterpoint and informative device.

More recent in my aural bank: Einstürzende Neubauten’s industrial-style clustered sounds and their use of “found” instruments, the deep timbre of Leonard Cohen’s speaking voice on the opening track of Glass’s Book of Longing (which immediately prepares the listener for the impending emotional ride), and the made-up language of Sigur Ros, which supplies the music with the joys of articulation sans the weight of literal meaning and associations. The rhythmic power and thrust of spoken text is as appealing to me as the lyrical qualities of the human voice. Therefore, when writing for that instrument, I rarely use text; it distracts me from the timbre, which I want to use independently from the words.

Reich’s immensely moving Electric Counterpoint is a timeless favorite of mine. Glass’s The Screens—a collaboration with Foday Musa Suso—is a perfect display of his uncanny ability to create complex layers with absolute clarity, his ability to collaborate across disciplines (the music was for the Jean Genet play directed by JoAnne Akalaitis), and perhaps even more importantly, his integration of African and Western patterns which opened for me (at an early age) a window into the world of cross-cultural synthesis.

I also love John Zorn, the Italian singer Fabrizio D’Andre, anything Fado, and the anthemic choral songs from South Africa... there is a slew of GREAT african groups such as Zola, Only the Poor Man Feel It, and others, many of which I learned about from Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony (2002), a movie I can not recommend highly enough. I also like pop music (Black Eyed Peas), and adore film music. I identify strongly with opera and film traditions. In general, I like music that has a powerful emotion impact, and music that's just fun. I could go on... and it changes every day!


Dufallo: What is your work process? Do you compose regularly (every day, or particular times), or do you wait for ideas to come to you?

Prestini: I would love to compose every day! These days I write 4 times a week in 4-6 hour chunks. I balance my work with running my nonprofit (VisionIntoArt), and the education, performing, and recording initiatives that I direct. Additionally, I teach, produce, and curate... so it's generally a balancing act. Ideas for my musical and multimedia projects tend to come from all aspects of my life. I am open to any source of inspiration, and I feel fortunate to be a receptacle. I am constantly recording sounds on my ZOOM recorder, and every day I collect texts or ideas that I think will one day amount to a project. This way, when I have a commission or decide to self produce a work, I have a bank of inspiring ideas that have been germinating for some time. In general the hardest part of writing for me is the very beginning, when I am creating the language rules (as abstract as they are in my music, there are still rules having to do with intervalic patterns, counterpoint, and harmonic and tonal colors). Then, a feeling of flow kicks in, and the years of practice pay off. Many times I do not even remember writing certain passages. That is always fun. The orchestrating process is also great fun as it is like completing a puzzle.


Dufallo: Can you discuss Ocean? What was the initial inspiration for this project, and how has it developed?

Prestini: Ocean stems from my recent work Oceanic Verses, which was commissioned by Carnegie Hall. This work began in truth several years ago when I was at my friends residency program, Sound Res, in Lecce, Italy. I was there for another project, but I was also doing education work at a local foster care home. My friend and the curator of the program, Alessandra Pomarico, suggested I do a musical composition project with the kids. I decided to record their voices and interview them; we created a sound scape dedicated to their surroundings and their memories of childhood. They introduced me to beautiful songs from their region, and this began my new love affair with Italy.

As a child and young adult growing up on the Mexican-American border, I had often drawn on Mexican folk music; it now feels right that as an adult I am researching the music of my Italian ancestry. I am continuing my search for a musical identity that pays respect to my roots. By examining and researching the Salento region which maintains many ancient traditions and still speaks a much forgotten language, I am trying to create a work that illuminates the complex ethnic mosaic that has shaped my cultural heritage.

The story of is derived from the texts of the songs chosen and also intermittent poems from a variety of Italian poets through time such as Vittoria Colonna, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Dante Alighieri and Aleardi. Oceanic Verses is sung in various dialects including Griko, Byzantine Greek, Arabic, Ladino, and Bourbon Spanish, coloring the work with the ethnic influences of the Salento region.

Each tableau illuminates a different ritual, ranging from weddings to curative rituals. I combine my original music with fragments of folk traditions, ancient music (dating as far back as 3000 BC), and field samples from my research in the Salento region. The result is a semi-staged opera that explores facets of a woman's psyche told through two timeless characters: a Mother, and an ageless Queen (who also serves as the work’s narrator). The women passionately intertwine throughout the work while the ocean surrounds and binds their tales. The ocean serves as a metaphor for the expanse that can separate cultures while simultaneously connecting them. In this way, the ocean becomes a sonic and visual narrator, guiding listeners through a personal journey into a culture I left at a young age. The work is a collaboration with the fascinating filmmaker Ali Hossaini. It will be performed by New York City Opera in April-May for VOX, and at Galapagos on April 2 during VisionIntoArt: Ferus, the festival I am curating there this spring.


Dufallo: You are known for your fascinating multimedia projects. Have you always been drawn to mutimedia art, or (if not) how did you find your way to this area?

Prestini: I have always been drawn to collaboration. Whether it is with an unknown author as in my songs, or a present artist I am creating with, I find the dialogue of learning through another artist’s disciplinary language fascinating.

About ten years ago, I began VisionIntoArt (VIA) with another composer (while we were both students at the Juilliard School). With VIA, I wanted to create a collective in which we could explore interdisciplinary ideas, keeping music at its core—a school that would continue beyond school. I knew that being part of a larger whole would help us learn techniques across disciplines, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in a safe playground. VIA is a multimedia company that promotes new music collaborations. It is an ensemble and a production company. Over the years, I have learned that collaboration can be an arduous process, and it is the balance of respecting people's ideas, and knowing how to let certain ideas go that allows one to avoid compromising one's artistic integrity. Each new artist and art form I collaborate with opens a new world in me and makes me feel like I am continuing my education.


Dufallo: Do you have any advice for very young composers who are just starting out?

Prestini: Flexibility in today’s presenting world is essential. I have learned that each work one creates should have the ability to be modified for different venues and for different types of events. This will help you find opportunities to share your art with the widest possible public, and in the most effective manner for each performance. Ask yourself, is the focus more on performance, installation, or perhaps education?

I have written about the "Stages of Collaboration." Here is a small sampling from a larger document I created for NY State Alliance on the Arts "Bootstraps Program:"

1. Encounter/Commitment

During this phase, artists get to know each other, commit to a project and to a slot of time in which no product is created and there is no definite goal in mind.

This time needs to be free; many differences will emerge, and it will not always be easy. We are used to living in a product driven society, so the idea of free time seems crazy.

This phase is where you set up your mode of working, and your language and rules. Press packets, mission statements, slogans, logos, and a distribution of roles needs to be discussed. These roles and this type of work is constantly being refined throughout the work's evolution.

Take advantage of your partners different training, background and terminology. This is one of the steepest learning curves you will experience in the process.


2. Exploration/Negotiation

Each artist works in different ways.

After finding an artist who inspires you and with whom you want to work, you will enter the discovery period of how each of you work and how you will work together.

Actively engaging in each other’s practice is the fruit of this stage.

To be successful, the partners must be inventive and playful, suspending a rigid sense of traditional practice and investing an extended period of time.

Without sufficient space during this period, you may not benefit fully from what you can learn from your collaborators art form and experience.

The exploration phase is time when you work individually and collaboratively. It is the time to solidify the direction your project will go in.

3. Composition/Production

This is the production phase. At this point you have a clear idea of your product, and it is on its way to completion. This is the phase that most often gets funded and that we are most familiar with. Documentation and post production work needs to be discussed.

Learning and development should happen in all the phases. Have fun!