Autopsia su una marionetta

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Written for Divertimento Ensemble for the International Workshop for Young Composers IV edition.
Instrumentation: B.Fl., Ob., B.Cl., Perc., Piano, 2 Vn., Vla, Vc.
Prémiere: 14 July 2018 Auditorium Santa Chiara, Bobbio. Dvertimento Ensemble, Sandro Gorli cond.
Duration: ca. 8 min.

“Look at your body:
A painted puppet, a poor toy
Of jointed parts ready to collapse,
A diseased and suffering thing
With a head full of false imaginings.”
The Dhammapada

I found almost by chance these lines while reading a book by Thomas Ligotti and the image was so strong to induce me to investigate this mechanical (and suffering) nature of the human being, realizing a musical autopsy: the body/piece, gradually assembled and then dissected, shows its internal structure made up of imperfect gears and repeated modules and reveals itself as a machine, now turned off.