Expedition of the Self, as taken from the multi-ward-winning album Mt. Mundane.
In ‘Expedition of the Self’ composer Stephen Emmer engages in a musical dialogue with his younger artistic self. The central melodic theme had lived in his mind for over forty years, a fragment from a time when he could still hear fully. Now partially deaf and living with severe tinnitus, Emmer revisits this long-held motif with a sense of reverence and reflection. The piece begins with a traditionally structured piano theme, grounded in European tonality.
This theme is answered by a sacred passage featuring a boy soprano, representing the younger composer’s voice. What follows is a sonic response from the older, present-day Emmer: layered, introspective, and tinged with the melancholic beauty of artistic evolution in the face of physical loss. The composition captures both memory and metamorphosis, making Expedition of the Self a deeply personal journey through sound, time and identity with emotional depth and accessible for untrained ears.
Record Label: Electric Fairytale Recordings