Potato Face Blind Man

from $40.00

for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano, flute, violin, viola, contrabass, harp, and percussion
Percussion Instruments: Bar Chimes, 2 Triangles, Finger Cymbals, 5 Gongs, 5 Cowbells, Sizzle Cymbal, Tam-tam, Castanets, Wood Block (high-pitched), Temple Block (high-pitched), Wooden Wind Chimes, 3 Bongos + 2 Congas (or 2 Bongos + 3 Congas), Snare, Egg Shaker, Jawbone, Bass Drum, Glockenspiel, Slide Whistle
Duration: 12 minutes
Year Composed: 2016
Commissioned by SICPP and the Callithumpian Consort
Premiered June 25, 2016 at SICPP (Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice)

Score and parts measure 8.5" x 11".
Read Digital Score Disclaimer

Format:

for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano, flute, violin, viola, contrabass, harp, and percussion
Percussion Instruments: Bar Chimes, 2 Triangles, Finger Cymbals, 5 Gongs, 5 Cowbells, Sizzle Cymbal, Tam-tam, Castanets, Wood Block (high-pitched), Temple Block (high-pitched), Wooden Wind Chimes, 3 Bongos + 2 Congas (or 2 Bongos + 3 Congas), Snare, Egg Shaker, Jawbone, Bass Drum, Glockenspiel, Slide Whistle
Duration: 12 minutes
Year Composed: 2016
Commissioned by SICPP and the Callithumpian Consort
Premiered June 25, 2016 at SICPP (Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice)

Score and parts measure 8.5" x 11".
Read Digital Score Disclaimer

Program Notes

 

Potato Face Blind Man is a setting of Carl Sandburg’s “The Potato Face Blind Man Who Lost the Diamond Rabbit on His Gold Accordion” from Rootabaga Stories, a collection of short stories he described as American fairy tales. Most of the stories in the collection are nonsensical, and many are told by the Potato Face Blind Man, of whom Sandburg writes:

“... it is in Rootabaga Country, and in the biggest village of that country, the Potato Face Blind Man sits with his accordion on the corner nearest the post office. There he sits with his eyes never looking out and always searching in. And sometimes he finds in himself the whole human procession.”

The work was commissioned by the Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP) and Callithumpian Consort.

— Charles Halka

 

Live recording by Callithumpian Consort.
Stephen Drury, conductor.
Thea Lobo, mezzo-soprano.

Digital Score Disclaimer
PDF downloads are non-refundable. The purchase of this item entitles the buyer to download, save, and print as many copies as needed for use in order to rehearse and perform the work. The purchase of this PDF file does not include the conveyance of copyright. The buyer does not have the right to distribute this material to any third party, by any means. The copyright holder maintains all rights over their intellectual property. By submitting the order, the buyer demonstrates their acknowledgment of, and agreement to, these conditions.