Palimpsest: stella obscura
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PALIMPSEST: stella obscura
a soprano sings in a concert and wants to hear how it sounded next morning hating the recording she puts it into a tape recorder presses “record” and gets on with the day job the machine hating the quiet turns up the gain records itself in operation motor noise tape hiss punctuated by sudden sounds as drawers are opened and files stored and the machine is hushed for a time gradually the voice emerges tentatively a cough a murmur eventually external demands require a response an arrangement is made verbally agreed recorded yesterday’s song what will come tomorrow the listener will never know the public performance is gone but the private is now public Lisa Whistlecroft November 2003
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