This science fiction opera, composed by Tod Machover
in 1987 for the 10th anniversary of the Pompidou Center in Paris, was the first
time that Hyperinstruments were used. Based on a novel by Philip K. Dick, the
story follows the life of Dick's alter-ego, Horselover Fat, who has a strange
VALIS "pink light" experience, which might be a real spiritual
revelation, but looks an awful lot like a technological experiment gone awry or
maybe even a nervous breakdown. The entire "orchestra" for VALIS was
made up of two instruments, hyperkeyboard and hyperpercussion. A CD recording
of the work is available on the Bridge label (Bridge 9007).
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