Shimmering novas

This is the fourth and final installment of my Flying at Night series for solo piano and video, based on the poem of the same name by Ted Kooser (www.tedkooser.net). This is a reflection on the closing lines of the poem: All night, the cities, like shimmering novas,/tug with bright streets at lonely lights like his.

You can view the previous three videos by scrolling through the older posts or visiting http://www.youtube.com/lineandlandscape. You can read the full poem at: http://www.tedkooser.net/excerpts/flyingAtNight.html

Over the course of this project, I’ve come to understand this poem primarily as an allegory of urbanization (i.e. the farm being swallowed up by the city) but also, on another level, as a meditation on stillness. For me this poem (as well as the literal act of flying at night) conjures up feelings of introspection, wonder and melancholy among others. I hope to have captured some of that in the music.

Finally, in case anyone is curious, the videos were all shot with an iPhone using the 8mm app and edited in iMovie. The music was recorded at home on my Kohler & Campbell upright piano, using Garage Band.