This unusual title is the beginning of a poem by E. E. Cummings from the book no thanks (1953). The poem plays with different absurd versions of the word grasshopper. In the piece, is represents the jumping of different ideas between the cembalo and the electronics. Like all the works of this cycle, the electronic setup of  r p o p h e s s a g r is meticulously composed to generate a space around the cembalo: some loudspeakers will surround the tail of the instrument, on the stage, as a sort of acoustic extension. 

The electronic material mainly consists of several families of sound made with different model of computer-generated synthesis, more or less close to the acoustic characteristics of the cembalo. In addition, the sound of the instrument is processed with a ring modulator, which turns it into a non-harmonic bell, a clear homage to Stockhausen’s Mantra, of which I often performed the electronics. 

I am extremely grateful to Gośka Isphording, wonderful and courageous performer, who led me into composing for this fascinating instrument and explore the electronic world which accompany it. 

Marco Stroppa