The people here go mad. They blame the wind (2013)
(for bass clarinet, cello, piano and 12 music-boxes)

For the past three years I have been composing pieces inspired by bells and music-box mechanisms. Today my research has shifted in another direction, but before moving on I decided to close completely this compositional cycle — that includes the pieces Clangs, D’après and Glockengießerei — with this new piece.

I was walking alone through Somerville (Boston), on a sunny, quiet day. The wind blew strongly for just a moment, and when it stopped, it left in the air a clanging harmony. It took me a few seconds to understand that this sound was made by metal chimes hanging from several doors. It made me smile!

After a few months, when I was starting to compose this piece, I was reading a poem by Dorothy Molloy. She kept repeating “The people here go mad. They blame the wind.” and it made me remember that day, that sound. So I decided to write it down.

I would like to thank the Trio Catch, for their passion and commitment to this project, and the engineers of Quadrature Berlin, for building this beautiful machine.

Clara Iannotta