Memory Palace

Composer Chris Cerrone was in residence with video director Mark DeChiazza and percussionist Ian David Rosenbaum to shoot a video for Memory Palace, a 23-minute composition for percussion and electronics. The piece’s title refers to an ancient technique of memorization that helped orators remember very long speeches by placing mental signposts in an imaginary location and “walking” through it.

The majority of the instruments in Memory Palace are fashioned by the percussionist. These included a cheap guitar, fourteen slats of wood (to be played like a marimba), ten metal pipes, and wine bottles filled with varying amounts of water. The percussion- ist also triggers a series of electronic drones using an foot pedal, creating a resonant background aura that enhances the live music throughout.