IcarUS At thE caBARet VoLtairE: parT I (tHe RENdeZVOus) was composed in August and September of 1985 for the Los Angeles-based guitar duo of Matthew Elgart and Peter Yates. The work was first performed on 18 December 1985 by the Elgart/Yates Duo at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and has since been performed over two dozen times throughout the United States and Europe. IcarUS At thE caBARet VoLtairE is the recipient of a 1987 ASCAP Grants to Young Composers Award and an honorable mention in the 1988 Gaudeamus Prize Competition.

To present an in-depth analysis of a work such as IcarUS At thE caBARet VoLtairE prior to its performance would be an injustice both to the work itself and to the audience. However, let it suffice to say that the work is intended as a musical embodiment of the DADA spirit (as suggested by its title) in both construction and presentation. Much of the work is based on a process of growth/metamorphosis/decay, though the myriad of surface details often obscure this fundamental structural tenet. Textual materials are taken from four different languages (German, French, Italian, and English) and juxtaposed arbitrarily, their placement defined by Morse Code and organized according to pre-compositional decisions determined by a deck of playing cards. The often marionette-like actions of the guitarists themselves emphasize their reflexive/reactive attitude toward the various aural stimuli, which in turn either generate additional musical materials, or are integrated into the overall texture.