Hollow Ground II was composed in Austin, Texas (1996). Written for soprano voice and prerecorded sound, this work has been performed with dance choreographed by Yacov Sharir. As it is the second piece in the “Hollow Ground” trilogy commissioned by the Sharir Dance Company, it contains some of the sonic material from its predecessor Hollow Ground I; no other pre-existing musical sources were incorporated. Both works contain various acoustic instruments lying around my apartment at the time; shakers, rattles, rain sticks, finger cymbals, computers, and so on. Despite the addition of a vocalist, Hollow Ground II does not have any text; the vocalist never sings a word—her sounds are syllabic, which, when combined with her physical gestures during performance, create a strong ritualistic quality. This is music generated by making the most out of the materials within arm’s reach. Artist's often use whatever is available to express their vision; the “whatever” is local, but the desire to “express” is global.
© fwmp 2004
"The music for the featured works, by Tom Lopez, was quite computerish and technological in nature, at times eerie and space-like. It added to the 21st century, brave new world feel of the program."- The Texas Triangle, Thursday, November 28, 1996, Sean Moynihan