instrumentation: voice (C#3 – A4) and electronics
duration: 21 minutes
written in: 2008–09
text: Alex Temple

Imogene's nameless protagonist sees the world through the lens of 1980s futurism. Everything is controlled interconnected;  this is a world of maps, airplane routes, telecommunication, advertising, espionage, big science — not a world of people. One day an unexpected letter arrives, and the events that follow ultimately lead to the uncovering of a painful repressed memory in a Berlin techno club.

​

The piece deliberately evokes music from the period — harmonically, melodically, timbrally, and in vocal style. There are references to specific songs (a near-quotation from Gary Numan's "Cars," which is actually from 1979) as well as more general stylistic allusions (particularly to Laurie Anderson and Robert Ashley). Although the materials are relatively recent, I see the piece as part of a centuries-long tradition of using shared cultural associations to create meaning. Just as low brass meant "Underworld" to a 17th-century audience, certain synth timbres and harmonic structures mean "technology and alienation" to a 21st-century one.

​

I originally wrote Imogene for Celestial Mechanics, a vocal trio consisting of Lainie Fefferman, Anne Hege and Sarah Paden.  Ultimately, though, I realized that I needed to sing it myself.  I was trying to figure out my gender at the time, and I used the piece to experiment with different ways of using my voice.  For more about that, and about what it felt like to return to the piece years after transitioning, see my article "Where are the Operas About People Like Me? Imagining a Trans-Inclusive New Music World."

​

download text (pdf)