Horizon & Retrospect by SwidlerFiddler published on 2021-08-31T04:45:08Z Horizon & Retrospect for Palaver Strings Composed by Abby Swidler Performed by Palaver Strings 5/22/21 Mechanics Hall, Portland, ME ~ ~ ~ In the height of the quarantine summer & fall of 2020, I found spaciousness and solace dreaming of Munjoy Hill, ME, as I immersed myself in interviews with long-time residents. I journeyed with them into their memories of the nature in and surrounding their neighborhood & created sounds to depict these places and stories. Horizon & Retrospect, Snapshots of Munjoy Hill, is a series of scenes from the neighborhood from the last 50 years, with an eye towards the future: Movement I, “the promenade used to be wild,” takes us on an adventure through the trails of Fish Point when it was wilderness. In a changing climate, movement II, “a whale visits casco bay,” dreams of a future where ecosystems are in balance and there is greater reciprocity between humans and the earth. Movement III, “the tulip tree got chopped down,” is a reflection on the environmental impacts of gentrification in Munjoy Hill. In this movement, an 80-year-old tree is sacrificed for development. Movement IV, “sunset from congress st.,” is a meditation on nature’s cycles and transitions. This movement takes us through the stages of twilight, from daylight through civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight, into a clear spring night.
