A Listener's Guide to Cellista's Transfigurations

By Cellista and Frank Seeburger

A Listener’s Guide to Cellista’s Transfigurations is the accompaniment to Cellista’s album of experimental classical music Transfigurations. Cellista provides a critical companion text to her music that gives her listeners an opportunity to understand the compositional process behind her album. She offers a set of tools and “transfigurative” essays that guide curious ears through a musicological and at times, confessional journey. Readers will also find essays that plumb the subject of transfiguration through autobiographical reflection by the philosopher Dr. Frank Seeburger.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9780359855186

Book preview

A Listener's Guide to Cellista's Transfigurations

A Listener’s Guide to Cellista’s Transfigurations

Cellista

Dr. Frank Seeburger

Copyright © 2019 by Freya Seeburger

ISBN 978-0-359-85518-6

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

Second Printing: August 2019

Juxtapositions

390 N. 2nd Street

San Jose, CA 95112

cellista.net

Dedicated to Barron Storey. You transfigured my world at the end of Time.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Thank you

Preface

A Manifesto for San Jose

Part I

Liner Notes

About Cellista’s Transfigurations

Cellista’s Process

Instructions for Listening

Movement Listing

Analysis

Cellista’s Confessions

Finding Myself

The End of Time

Suicide

Look Homeward, Angel

You Can’t Go Home Again

Namesake. Olivier de Sagazan’s Transfiguration

Email from Cellista’s Father

My Transfiguration

Part II

Transfiguring Essays by Dr. Frank Seeburger

Progressive Delusion

Finding Heidegger

Finding Father

Finding Freya

Finding Stravinsky

After The Coup

Humbling Pride

Border Crossings

Acknowledgements

Nicolas Hadacek—I love you. Always.

Dad—Thank you for giving me a life full of ideas and curiosity. I am so glad we got to work on this together. I got to learn more about you through your essays. I love you so much!

Mom—Thank you for always picking up the phone for me. For listening, and reading, and loving me always! I love you!

Maryam Qudus—Our stories seem to continually intertwine. I am grateful for the longevity of our friendship. You are the bedrock of this album. Your patience, kindness, and openness to my ideas have been foundational to my creative process. I can’t wait for what is next.

Jennifer Gigantino—You always understand. You always get it and get me. From Finding San Jose to Wants to Transfigurations. I feel lucky to have you on this journey. You are a vital part of the work I do.

Cherri Lakey—For seeing me. For hearing me. For the opportunities you’ve given me. For understanding me. For loving me.

Brian Eder—Thank you for your friendship. For always giving the best hugs. For your warmth, kindness, and love.

Keith Munson—From our days playing music in Longmont Youth Symphony to the present day; who would have thought we would traverse nearly twenty years only to end up together in Fantasy Studios making beautiful music. I wonder what will come next.

Nahuel Bronzini—Ears of gold. Thank you for truly listening to this album and shaping it into a better story and for feeling the same excitement and delight at the work we did with You Can’t Go Home Again.

Lilith Ransom—Thank you for being with me as I experiment and explore crazy ideas. You are such an integral part of Transfigurations. I’ve never collaborated as closely on projects as I have with you. Thank you for trusting me and understanding me.

Mojo DeVille—It’s like you are a part of me. I feel you are right there with me in my head. I love creating with you.

Peter Colclasure—Thank you for continually supporting me. Thank you for your friendship. Your beautiful arrangement of Look Homeward, Angel is everything. In the words of Audrey Hepburn in a letter to Henry Mancini, thanking him for his work on Breakfast at Tiffany’s, ‘You are the hippest of cats – and the most sensitive of composers!’

Thank you

Rachel Riot, Amanda Martino, Rykarda Parasol, Lauren Baines, David Möschler, Allison Gomer, Naomi Stine, Nick Vasallo, Mia Nardi-Huffman, Mia Bella D’Augelli, Kyle Beard, Be’eri Moalem, Travis Kindred, Tim DeCillis, Julia Ramos, Melissa Wimbish, Ondine Young, Kristina Dutton, Aubrey Gail Ferreira, King Patrick Eugenio, Stephanie René Hancock, Maria Zigurs, Sarah Staub, Leon Staub, Cromwell Schubarth, Ryan Calloway, Beau Sorenson, Tom Skinner, Ariel Wang, Anastasia Reshetikhin, Aaron Simunovich, Christina Linskey, Julie Kodama, Matt Carson, Josh Curry, Lisa Dewey, Tom Shulruff, James Reber, Beth Custer, Jennifer Culp, Bryan Lovo, Charles Barrett, David Perez, Mike McGee, Gary Singh, Lob Instagon, Jess Coble, Rent Romus, Mark Schwab, Steve Murr, Gino Robair, Piper Payne, Jonathan Birkholz, Chloe Veltman, Demone Carter, and Izzie.

Preface

By Frank Seeburger

The world is new every day.

—Heraclitus

A gift that remains un-cherished never comes to full flower as gift. It is cut off in the bud. Gifts, after all, are given to be received. That's what they're for.

To receive a gift, however, means more than merely to sign for it at the door, when delivery is made. It means to unwrap the package once one has closed the door again on the deliverer, to see what one has given—if one is at that time also given the eyes to see the very gift one has been sent.

The greatest gifts we are ever given in one sense give us nothing new. Rather, they give us everything again, but for the very first time. They do not change anything; they change everything.

Those greatest of all gifts are transfigurations.

m.c. escher angeks and demons.jpeg

The picture above is of M. C. Escher's Angels and Demons. Which of those two one sees, angels or demons, when one looks at the picture depends on what stands out in one's vision as figure, and what recedes as ground. If,