O Fortuna
by Joshua Carr
An exercise for soloist, dice, metronome, sight reading exercises and Audio player.
Instruments:
One (1) Audio player. The Audio player must have the ability to play a conventional CD as well as tune into FM & AM frequencies. It should also have a large volume knob capable of being turned from silence to very loud with one quick, smooth motion. Calibrated volume knobs that "click" would not be ideal.
5 CDs: In front of the Audio player are 5 CDs of various musical genres, numbered 1 through 5, the radio dial will be labeled "6"
Dice: There will also be a number of dice on an available table or flat area. The required dice are as follows:
One (1) six-sided die (regular dice)
Two (2) ten sided dice
One (1) eight sided die
One (1) twenty sided die
Coin: A large coin, with a head and a tail
INSTRUCTIONS
The soloist will read these instructions while s/he executes them, or s/he can enlist the aid of an assistant in reading the instructions while s/he executes them.
Roll a six-sided die to determine what the Audio player will play. A roll of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 will correspond to the numbered CD. If a 6 is rolled, the radio will be played.
If the radio is chosen, Toss the coin to determine AM or FM frequencies. Then Roll a six-sided die once again to choose the genre to look for on the radio dial.
1 = Pop
2 = Country
3 = Classical
4 = Latin
5 = Talk
6 = Dance
If the performer cannot find the genre on the dial, re-roll and repeat the search.
If one of the CDs is chosen, then Roll one (1) twenty-sided
die to determine which track to play.
Roll two (2) ten-sided dice to determine which page to turn to in the sight reading exercise book. (For example, if one die reads 4 and the other reads 6, turn to page 46.) The performer will execute the first exercise on the page.
Roll an eight-sided die to determine the tempo with which the exercise will be performed. The outcomes correlate as follows:
1 = Largo (40-60)
2 = Larghetto (60-66)
3 = Adagio (66-76)
4 = Andante (76-108)
5 = Moderato (108-120)
6 = Allegro (120-168)
7 = Presto (168-200)
8 = Prestissimo (200-208)
Play the chosen exercise by manipulating the volume control on the Audio player. Disregard the pitch information in the exercise if it exists. Execute the rhythm of the piece, paying close attention to phrasing and dynamics, which the performer has a fine control over. Make sure that all silences are indeed silences and that the end of the piece ends with silence.
Flip a coin to determine if the performance was a success.
Note: Any one of the die rolls or coin flips can be repeated if the performer feels it necessary to execute the exercise with competence, including the final coin toss.