Suite from the Everlasting Bonfire 

Program Notes

The Everlasting Bonfire was a science-fiction opera, written and directed by Dan Ward, for which I wrote most of the music (some songs had already been written by Bill Berry). Though it had a run of twelve performances in 1999, it was not a success. I really liked the music I had written for it, however, and have recycled some of my favorite parts into new pieces: this suite, and my 2005 string quartet, Short Stories, a movement of which is based on an aria from the opera.

A sort of retro-50s end-of-the-earth story, The Everlasting Bonfire was about travel to Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, to establish a new human colony from thousands of frozen embryos (initially to be implanted in the wombs of the two female astronauts); the liberation of a colony on neighboring Io of 1,000 people enslaved to the evil Stanlor; the chance encounter with an android, the once-human Kate, floating in space; two births, one symbolic of the difficulties that lay ahead, the other of the hope following the triumph over Stanlor.

The opera was written for a mixture of voice styles, from operatic to rock, and was performed with a combination of Bunraku-style puppets, “live” acting, and ballet. My music for this show has a kinship with, and reflects my affection for, music for science-fiction television shows and movies from the 1950s and beyond.

The original scoring was for a Greek chorus of three women singers, string quartet, double bass, piano, and drums. For this suite, I chose music, both instrumental and vocal, that seemed best-suited to be played by wind instruments.

Suite from The Everlasting Bonfire was commissioned by Ursula Krummel and was premiered on Pacific Serenades concerts in April of 2000 by me on flute, Allan Vogel, oboe, Gary Gray, clarinet, Brian O’Connor, horn, Michael O’Donovan, bassoon, and Ayke Agus, piano.

—Mark Carlson