The Economies of Action
ensemble: flute (doubling piccolo), english horn, horn, viola, & piano
duration: 5 minutes
written: summer 2020
premièred: April 7th, 2022; Bloomington, IN
PROGRAM Note:
I. The Economies of Action
II. The Right to be Forgotten
The title, The Economies of Action, is a term penned by the Harvard business professor Shoshana Zuboff in her 2019 book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. In it, Zuboff explores how big tech, by harvesting vast amounts of user data, is creating an economy based on individuals performing specific actions. With this data, companies can nearly guarantee individuals will perform these desired actions. I used this piece as a sort of “testing ground” for musical ideas which were used in another Zuboff-inspired piece written for the Illinois Philharmonic, Make Them Dance.
The Economies of Action is in two short, unbroken sections: the first, a sinister bit of murmuring which gives way to a long, melismatic line that envelops the ensemble; the second, a free, quasi-pastorale centered around a viola recitative. The piece ends with the music from the first section coming back again, completing a cycle that can’t truly be broken.