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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