The Lark Full Cloud was commissioned in 1992 by the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles. I and two other composers created music for Grand Hope Park, then being designed by famed landscape architect Lawrence Halprin. The park features a now-iconic clocktower which for a period of time marked the hours with our music. We each composed eight pieces for all of the general times of day and night, alternating during playback to fill all 24 hours.
In 2020, seeking a musical antidote to the pandemic, I revisited this set of miniatures inspired by the outdoors, the spirit and moods of nature, and the rhythm of the day/night cycle. While still based on the original recorded tracks, the pieces have been completely remixed and remastered, with a few new elements added to enhance the musical balance. The title is drawn from a line in Dylan Thomas's "Poem in October".
Instrumentation: synthesis, saxophone, percussion, electric guitar, natural sounds, electronic processing.
On The Lark Full Cloud, Christopher Whitley, Violin
Featuring the work of many artists and poets,
Grand Hope Park is located in downtown LA, next to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and a few blocks from the convention center.
