as far as this train goes

as far as this train goes (2019)
performed by Mallory Baker and Declan Ryan on November 12th, 2019, at the DePaul University Composers Forum
Composed and animated by Declan Ryan

“There is poetry in every experience … for where one stop ends, a new journey begins.” --@cta on Twitter, 6/19/19, 4:18 pm

as far as this train goes is a 4-hands piano piece, intended to musically recreate the CTA train map. Each station appears as a short motive, linked together to the other stations on the line. The different lines occupy various ranges on the piano, from the Yellow Line on the lowest keys to the Orange Line at the very top. The lines move across the city in an independent, quasi-contrapuntal manner, but the melodies join up and create harmonies when they meet at major streets and transfer stations.

The animation guides the listener across the map as the trains travel through the city, starting in Evanston and Skokie, converging in the Loop, and finally fanning out to the edges of the south and west sides. The piece eventually slows to a stop as the Red Line reaches its final destination: “This is 95th/Dan Ryan, as far as this train goes.”

train