RIGWRECK A THROW
RIGWRECK A THROW RIGWRECK what do we know, what can we know? OF THE DICE at do we know, what can we know? of science, of love? OF THE DICE only the facts, that is to say only effects science, of love? NEVER only the facts, that is to say can this happen only effects NEVER even if, can this happen NEVER in science, in love this happen EVEN WHEN CAST ven if, can this happen Indra’s net of love, in science, in love EVEN WHEN CAST EVEN WHEN CAST money’s net of stone ra’s net of love, what do we know, what can we know? HEN CAST What has caused this gulf money’s net of stonebetween water & oil, you & me IN ETERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES e know, what can we know? (no circumstances are eternal, at has caused this gulf AT THE HEART OF ater & oil, you & me of this rigwreck IN ETERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES What will we know? circumstances are eternal, We know only effects / have to choose HEART OF the causes of this rigwreck A SHIPWRECK at the heart that the we know? gulf widens know only effects / have to choose between water & oil, you & me fish & water, me & you HIPWRECK at the heart that the that the Abyss between water & water, you & you me & me, oil & fish widened then whitened there is slack growing raging underwater in the heart underheart in the water on the brain what we know is oil & water don’t mix what we know is fish & oil don’t mix what we know is you & I have to mix what we know is you & I have to live under an incline clinamen of a warming clime an angle not an angel tells us me & you want to live even if despair desperately soars & gets an angry rise form the phantom pain of its own planet’s sore broken wing a second-hand angel singing Ecce Homo, Ecce Homo, though not so Sapiens, conscious liar, Rigwreck is the first section of Pierre Joris’ larger work The Gulf (between you & me). Some of the text is a partial writing-through of Stéphane Mallarmé’s poem A Throw of the Dice, using translations by Daisy Aldan and Pierre Joris. form the phantom pain of its own planet’s sore broken wing a second-hand angel singing Ecce Homo, Ecce Homo, though not so Sapiens, conscious liar, beforehand relapsed, liar, liar, not released from wrongly steering the flight of this planetary love affair no use repressing the outbursts of this lethal love affair cleaving the bounds of this oily love affair at the root of greed set the rig afloat a ship finally a ship the impossible change for deep inside weighs the admission of impending disaster the shadow hidden in the depth by this by this arrogance this arrogance at the root of greed this arrogance at the root of arrogance this love this love for more a more always spelled out in money blows the rig up this morning will blow the world up tomorrow there is no alternate sail ship earth in space / space ship earth the only raft for dumb sapiens who has to learn to love this imperfect raft there is no alternate sail dumb sapiens has to learn love has to learn to adjust has to learn to look to the spread the spreading of disaster has to learn to jump its yawning depth as great as any abyss between you & me the hull of a rig the hull of a ship careening from side to side turns over & is for a moment cathedral burning church of the worship of money brightly floating death flaunting love rigwreck rigwreck a catastrophe here now, the circumstances local & global not eternal only this now cannot grasp the hawser opens a gulf between life & death a millimeter uncrossable a BP centipede monster at the heart of this rigwreck abolish abolish abolished responsibility Moloch, Moloch Moloch — rules, Moloch rules all rules broken when Moloch rules. Rigwreck is the first section of Pierre Joris’s larger work The Gulf (between you & me), which, in this and the second section, is a partial writing-through of Stéphane Mallarmé’s poem A Throw of the Dice, using translations by Daisy Aldan and Pierre Joris.
Commissioned by The Crossing, Donald Nally, conductor. Rigwreck has been supported by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Rigwreck Pierre Joris (b.1946) Steady q = c.60 mf spoken SOPRANO ° & # 4 ¿ J ¿ J A THROW ‰ Œ Ó ∑ GABRIEL JACKSON ∑ ALTO TENOR BASS & # 4 ‰ Œ & # 4 ‰ Œ # & 4 ¿ J ‹ ?# ¢ 4 ¿ J mf spoken ¿ J A THROW mf spoken ¿ J A THROW p mf ˙ œ œ œ j ‰ œ œ ‰ what p what do we mf do we p know, p ˙ œ œ œ j ‰ œ œ ‰ ‰ Œ Ó ‰ Œ Ó know, ∑ mf œ œ œ j œ what can we mf œ œ œ j œ what can we ∑ ∑ for online perusal only 4 ° & # mf spoken 3 p 3 3 mp p 3 3 3 Ó Œ ‰ ¿ ¿ ¿ J ‰ ‰ œ j œ- œ ‰ ‰ œ j œ- œ ‰ œ - œ ‰ ‰ œ j œ - ≈ œ œ ≈ œ OF THE DICE of sci- ence, of sci- ence, sci- ence, of sci - i - i - & # & # & ‹ # p know? p p œ j ‰ œ œ œ ‰ Œ ˙ œ œ œ j ‰ œ œ ‰ œ j ‰ œ œ œ ‰ Œ what p do we know, know? what do we know, what mf spoken 3 Ó Œ ‰ ¿ ¿ ¿ J ‰ Œ Ó œ œ œ j œ ˙ ‰ œ ∑ ?# ¢ OF THE DICE mf spoken 3 Ó Œ ‰ ¿ ¿ ¿ J ‰ Œ Ó ∑ OF THE DICE Duration: 15' First performed by The Crossing, directed by Donald Nally, at the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, on 30 June 2013 during The Crossing’s 5th Annual Month of Moderns. Rigwreck by Gabriel Jackson, words by Pierre Joris. © Oxford University Press 2016. Text © Pierre Joris. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Gabriel Jackson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Composer of this Work. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, MUSIC DEPARTMENT, GREAT CLARENDON STREET, OXFORD OX2 6DP Photocopying this copyright material is ILLEGAL.
