A Brief History of I Love You – David Lidov

A Brief History of I Love You—like many musical constructions of our time including others you hear tonight—could be regarded with equal logic as a composition or as an instrument on which a composition can be performed. Rick Sacks, though I provided a few instructions, will be at least the co-composer. But be it instrument or composition, this Brief History is also a prosthetic. I ask you not to laugh openly. Every prosthetic fits Bergson’s famous definition of the comic, “. . .something mechanical encrusted upon the living. . .” but we shouldn’t laugh, should we? Even if, regarded coldly, there is something comic about false teeth, false tits, false legs and false voices. I dedicate the music to all those who lend grace, intelligence and humanity to awkward devices on which they depend.
In realizing the computer program (with MAX) I benefited from the tremendous assistance of Emilio Guim, a jazz guitarist, composer and sound engineer from Ecuador now studying at York University. Like me, he was a stranger to MAX when we started, but he has rapidly become expert, fixing my errors and omissions when I am foolish enough to try things on my own. – composer David Lidov

Rick Sacks performs on the MalletKat