Description
This piece, by composer Matt Neufeld, was inspired by his fascination with and research into blackholes. The work depicts the journey of an unmanned probe ship as it ventures out to gather data on a black hole and report back to command. Suddenly, the probe reaches a point where it crosses the event horizon, never to return.
Program Notes
I’ve always been fascinated with space and science fiction, and after reading a book about black holes, I wanted to know more, so I did some research. A black hole is a collapsed star that is so dense that it pulls everything into it, and the point where nothing can escape from the black hole—including light—is called the event horizon. This piece is about the journey of an unmanned probe ship to study the black hole, to gather data, and to send information up to the point where the probe crosses the event horizon, never to be returned.
Inside the black hole, scientists think that something called a “singularity” exists—which is a point or region of infinite mass density where space and time are distorted by gravity, and this is thought to be the final state of matter falling into a black hole. Imagine everything being crushed into a single point! This is how the piece starts and ends—with the thought of a singularity.
I hope you enjoy Across the “Event Horizon!”
