title: Three Principles of Noir
instrumentation: amplified voice (C3 – D5), pre-recorded electronics and chamber orchestra (1111/1111/vibes/piano/strings)
duration: 30′
written in: 2018
text: Alex Temple
I used to spend a lot of time on film messageboards. One day, after watching a bunch of movies featuring sharp-tongued PIs and ill-conceived murder plots, I came up with what I called the three principles of noir:
1. The Double Indemnity principle: it doesn’t matter how well you plan it; you won’t get away with it.
2. The Detour principle: it doesn’t matter whether you actually did it or not; you still won’t get away with it.
3. The In a Lonely Place principle: it doesn’t matter whether you actually did it or not, cause you’re a bad person anyway.
In this monodrama (or is it a musical?), a historian with a grudge tells the story of her fall from grace — a story that includes a killer, a kiss, a corrupt cop, time travel, stolen research, the pressures of patriarchy, and the 1893 World’s Fair. By the end, she’s been persuaded to believe in all three principles. Do you think she’s right?
See the libretto
See the score
Three Principles of Noir was commissioned by American Composers Orchestra with support from the MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital, the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation and the Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trust.
Listen
Excerpt from the final song, “Pastorale”
Meaghan Burke, voice
American Composers Orchestra (George Manahan, cond.)
Amber Treadway, director
Storm Garner, costume designer
Live at Zankel Hall, 11.2.18