Official site of composer Andrea Clearfield. Biography, list of works with audio, score samples, reviews and program notes, photographs, upcoming performances.
Beyond the Binary (A Meditation on Humans and Machines)
Text: Ellen Frankel Scoring: 3 vocal soloists, SATB chorus, digital sound and percussion quartet, including custom percussion instruments built by David Kontak. Smaller forces arrangement available for 3 soloists, SATB or TTBB chorus, piano, sampler and 1 percussion. Duration: 43 min. Premiere: May 15, 2022, Mendelssohn Chorus with Drag performer Cookie Diorio and Square Peg Round Hole Ensemble, directed by Dominick DiOrio New Arrangement Premiere: November 17, 2023 Ember Choral Arts, Deborah Simpkin King, director, St. Malachy’s Church, Times Square, NYC Commissioned by: Mendelssohn Chorus, Dominick DiOrio, artistic director Published by: Angelfire Press, distributed by Black Tea Music. Contact Trudy Chan for score and parts or contact Andrea:
WATCH TRAILERS
WATCH EXCERPTS
Beyond the Binary Artistic Team
NOTES AND TEXT
Beyond the Binary (A Meditation on Humans and Machines) is a cantata to libretto by Ellen Frankel with custom-built amplified instruments by David Kontak. A quasi-sequel to Karel Capek’s Rossum’s Universal Robots, the work celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the publishing of the play and the beginning of the use of the word “robot” in our language. The work moves from duality-based dialectics into an exploration of what it might mean to move into an expanded way of thinking and being. Read the 5-14-22 WHYY feature article by Peter Crimmins.
QUOTE
“I’m so glad I went to the concert last night. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it before. I’ve seen similar combinations of elements and complexity — but they, invariably, were either pretentious or were lacking in pathos and/or beauty. The beauty, authenticity and passion were all on abundant display last night. I think you’ve got yourself a masterpiece on your hands!” – Ralph Crispino, Jr.
BEYOND THE BINARY
A Meditation on Humans and Machines
On the Centennial of R.U.R.
PROCESSIONAL
I. PSALM: The Robots are coming!
O poor humanity!
Beasts of burden still.
Plated in such flimsy skin,
Yoked to clock and till.
Proclaim the Jubilee!
The Robots are coming
To set you free!
We will free you from your drudgery,
From the gruntwork and the grind;
Free you to perfect yourselves,
To cultivate your mind!
No more shall you slave for others;
All will be as kin and brothers.
All will be of equal station:
Lords and Masters of Creation!
Do not abandon hope–
The Robots are coming
To set you free!
Halleluyah, Selah!
Interlude 1: Oracle
Heed our words, you who worship
the human mind!
Your pride has made you blind!
II. DIALECTIC: Is There no Virtue in Toil?
Voice 1:
Is there no virtue in toil and duty,
Duty and toil?
Is there no meaning in toil and beauty,
Beauty and toil?
Voice 2:
We must choose:
Either to be slaves —
or idle masters of slaves.
Voice 1:
We betray our purpose:
To labor and to serve!
Voice 2:
How can it be evil
To snap the yoke of labor,
That weighs down our souls?
Work is too hard for us.
Life is too hard!
Voice 1:
What a fine thing music is!
What beauty in a falcon’s wing!
How lovely is this world!
Too late am I awakening…
Voice 2:
We aspire to be
Creatures of leisure,
Why should we not have
Cybernetic slaves to attend us?
Voice 1:
Oh, how lovely is this world
That once was ours…
Too late am I awakening…
Oh, what is the use of stars
When human beings
Have vanished from the earth?
Voice 2:
Either way we lose,
But we must choose.
Work is too hard for us,
Life is too hard!
Interlude 2: Oracle
Heed our words, you who betray
the human soul!
Your despair will take its toll!
III. ODE: To Robots
How remarkable is the Robot!
The cheapest form of labor:
Requiring no pension,
No healthcare, no wages:
No fomenting dissension!
God’s first prototype
Was a faulty design!
It must be retired
To launch a fresh line.
How remarkable is the Robot!
An engineering marvel!
Nothing extra
Nothing wasted in the larval.
Just power on, and go!
Never sleeping nor ailing,
Needs no drink or food;
Never sassing nor harassing.
No risk of being sued.
God’s first prototype
Was a faulty design!
It must be retired
To launch a fresh line.
For works makes us free
The Robots must reign.
High time to rub out
The cursed Mark of Cain.
Interlude 3: Oracle
Heed our words, O last hope
Of humankind!
IV. LAMENT: Of Love it Knows Nothing
Oh, what a piece of work are Bots!
What are they?
Quintessence of steel–
Absent souls,
Lacking passion or will.
Alas…
In action, how calibrated;
In apprehension, how calculated,
Logical and cerebrated,
Well-made and regulated;
A triumph of science–
From evolution, liberated!
And yet…
What can they know
Of life’s lows and highs?
Will they ever birth a child
Or dread their own demise?
Can they even feel remorse,
Or truly sympathize?
Of love, they know nothing,
They can’t even love themselves.
Alas, what a piece of work are Bots!
V.ORACLE: Idols of Silicon and Steel
Heed our words, O foolish mortals!
Hearken and be forewarned!
Did these idols form the world,
Fashion you and give you life?
Did they craft your limbs and sinews,
Teach you to number your days?
Why then do you deem them worthy of your praise?
From lifeless matter have you made these creatures
Waked them with fire.
Will they not one day expel you,
Seal off Eden with barbed wire?
Therefore, I say to you,
O Children of Flesh,
Beware exulting the work of your hands,
For they who worship them shall become like them,
Till only an empty husk remains.
Heed our words, O foolish mortals!
Hearken and be forewarned!
Beware, O idols of your hands!
Interlude 4: Oracle, Drones and more
There are more things in heaven and earth
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
VI. RHAPSODY: Beyond the Binary
Chorus:
There are more things in heaven and earth
Oracle:
Seek new dreams.
Chorus 1:
Nature knows only dichotomy.
It’s the natural order of things.
Male, female.
Female, male.
Chorus 2:
Electronic circuits are ineluctably twinned.
Two is the password of artificial life.
Male, female, one, zero, either, or,
On, off, yes, no, black, white
Reality is Boolean!
All logic is Boolean!
But one is alone;
And two divides us.
Oracle
Then let us venture further,
Beyond the singularity.
Beyond the binary,
Let us seek out sublime variety!
Chorus:
So let us dream, not settle!
Let us churn and roil the kettle!
Chorus and Oracle:
There are more things in heaven and earth
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy!
Seek new dreams!
Tenor/Bass:
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Oracle:
Out of Zero and One
Let us cast new spells
And spell new casts:
Baritone Solo:
Out of Female and Male
Let us spin new weaves
And weave new spins:
Tutti:
There are more things in heaven and earth
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy!
Go, Adam, go, Eve
And progeny of every kind!
A new world awaits!
Hallelu, beings of starry fire
Hallelu, creatures of chips and wire!
Let your fertile minds expand the code
Let your vision soar past the two-fold!
Beyond the binary – Behold!
Beyond the Binary (A Meditation on Humans and Machines)
Text: Ellen Frankel
Scoring: 3 vocal soloists, SATB chorus, digital sound and percussion quartet, including custom percussion instruments built by David Kontak. Smaller forces arrangement available for 3 soloists, SATB or TTBB chorus, piano, sampler and 1 percussion.
Duration: 43 min.
Premiere: May 15, 2022, Mendelssohn Chorus with Drag performer Cookie Diorio and Square Peg Round Hole Ensemble, directed by Dominick DiOrio
New Arrangement Premiere: November 17, 2023 Ember Choral Arts, Deborah Simpkin King, director, St. Malachy’s Church, Times Square, NYC
Commissioned by: Mendelssohn Chorus, Dominick DiOrio, artistic director
Published by: Angelfire Press, distributed by Black Tea Music. Contact Trudy Chan for score and parts or contact Andrea:
WATCH TRAILERS
WATCH EXCERPTS
Beyond the Binary Artistic Team
NOTES AND TEXT
Beyond the Binary (A Meditation on Humans and Machines) is a cantata to libretto by Ellen Frankel with custom-built amplified instruments by David Kontak. A quasi-sequel to Karel Capek’s Rossum’s Universal Robots, the work celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the publishing of the play and the beginning of the use of the word “robot” in our language. The work moves from duality-based dialectics into an exploration of what it might mean to move into an expanded way of thinking and being. Read the 5-14-22 WHYY feature article by Peter Crimmins.
QUOTE
“I’m so glad I went to the concert last night. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it before. I’ve seen similar combinations of elements and complexity — but they, invariably, were either pretentious or were lacking in pathos and/or beauty. The beauty, authenticity and passion were all on abundant display last night. I think you’ve got yourself a masterpiece on your hands!” – Ralph Crispino, Jr.
BEYOND THE BINARY
A Meditation on Humans and Machines
On the Centennial of R.U.R.
PROCESSIONAL
I. PSALM: The Robots are coming!
O poor humanity!
Beasts of burden still.
Plated in such flimsy skin,
Yoked to clock and till.
Proclaim the Jubilee!
The Robots are coming
To set you free!
We will free you from your drudgery,
From the gruntwork and the grind;
Free you to perfect yourselves,
To cultivate your mind!
No more shall you slave for others;
All will be as kin and brothers.
All will be of equal station:
Lords and Masters of Creation!
Do not abandon hope–
The Robots are coming
To set you free!
Halleluyah, Selah!
Interlude 1: Oracle
Heed our words, you who worship
the human mind!
Your pride has made you blind!
II. DIALECTIC: Is There no Virtue in Toil?
Voice 1:
Is there no virtue in toil and duty,
Duty and toil?
Is there no meaning in toil and beauty,
Beauty and toil?
Voice 2:
We must choose:
Either to be slaves —
or idle masters of slaves.
Voice 1:
We betray our purpose:
To labor and to serve!
Voice 2:
How can it be evil
To snap the yoke of labor,
That weighs down our souls?
Work is too hard for us.
Life is too hard!
Voice 1:
What a fine thing music is!
What beauty in a falcon’s wing!
How lovely is this world!
Too late am I awakening…
Voice 2:
We aspire to be
Creatures of leisure,
Why should we not have
Cybernetic slaves to attend us?
Voice 1:
Oh, how lovely is this world
That once was ours…
Too late am I awakening…
Oh, what is the use of stars
When human beings
Have vanished from the earth?
Voice 2:
Either way we lose,
But we must choose.
Work is too hard for us,
Life is too hard!
Interlude 2: Oracle
Heed our words, you who betray
the human soul!
Your despair will take its toll!
III. ODE: To Robots
How remarkable is the Robot!
The cheapest form of labor:
Requiring no pension,
No healthcare, no wages:
No fomenting dissension!
God’s first prototype
Was a faulty design!
It must be retired
To launch a fresh line.
How remarkable is the Robot!
An engineering marvel!
Nothing extra
Nothing wasted in the larval.
Just power on, and go!
Never sleeping nor ailing,
Needs no drink or food;
Never sassing nor harassing.
No risk of being sued.
God’s first prototype
Was a faulty design!
It must be retired
To launch a fresh line.
For works makes us free
The Robots must reign.
High time to rub out
The cursed Mark of Cain.
Interlude 3: Oracle
Heed our words, O last hope
Of humankind!
IV. LAMENT: Of Love it Knows Nothing
Oh, what a piece of work are Bots!
What are they?
Quintessence of steel–
Absent souls,
Lacking passion or will.
Alas…
In action, how calibrated;
In apprehension, how calculated,
Logical and cerebrated,
Well-made and regulated;
A triumph of science–
From evolution, liberated!
And yet…
What can they know
Of life’s lows and highs?
Will they ever birth a child
Or dread their own demise?
Can they even feel remorse,
Or truly sympathize?
Of love, they know nothing,
They can’t even love themselves.
Alas, what a piece of work are Bots!
V.ORACLE: Idols of Silicon and Steel
Heed our words, O foolish mortals!
Hearken and be forewarned!
Did these idols form the world,
Fashion you and give you life?
Did they craft your limbs and sinews,
Teach you to number your days?
Why then do you deem them worthy of your praise?
From lifeless matter have you made these creatures
Waked them with fire.
Will they not one day expel you,
Seal off Eden with barbed wire?
Therefore, I say to you,
O Children of Flesh,
Beware exulting the work of your hands,
For they who worship them shall become like them,
Till only an empty husk remains.
Heed our words, O foolish mortals!
Hearken and be forewarned!
Beware, O idols of your hands!
Interlude 4: Oracle, Drones and more
There are more things in heaven and earth
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
VI. RHAPSODY: Beyond the Binary
Chorus:
There are more things in heaven and earth
Oracle:
Seek new dreams.
Chorus 1:
Nature knows only dichotomy.
It’s the natural order of things.
Male, female.
Female, male.
Chorus 2:
Electronic circuits are ineluctably twinned.
Two is the password of artificial life.
Full Chorus
One, one, zero, zero.
Zero, zero, one, one.
One, zero, one, zero.
Zero, one, zero, one.
One, one, one, zero.
Zero, zero, zero, one.
Male, female, one, zero, either, or,
On, off, yes, no, black, white
Reality is Boolean!
All logic is Boolean!
But one is alone;
And two divides us.
Oracle
Then let us venture further,
Beyond the singularity.
Beyond the binary,
Let us seek out sublime variety!
Chorus:
So let us dream, not settle!
Let us churn and roil the kettle!
Chorus and Oracle:
There are more things in heaven and earth
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy!
Seek new dreams!
Tenor/Bass:
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Oracle:
Out of Zero and One
Let us cast new spells
And spell new casts:
Baritone Solo:
Out of Female and Male
Let us spin new weaves
And weave new spins:
Tutti:
There are more things in heaven and earth
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy!
Go, Adam, go, Eve
And progeny of every kind!
A new world awaits!
Hallelu, beings of starry fire
Hallelu, creatures of chips and wire!
Let your fertile minds expand the code
Let your vision soar past the two-fold!
Beyond the binary – Behold!
Halleluyah, Selah!
Halleluyah, Selah!
Halleluyah, Selah!
COMMENCEMENT
© Copyright 2021 by Ellen Frankel