Via the merging of poetics and structure I hope to create symbolic emotional states in music that uncover meaning in unknowable aspects of human existence. In 'Lux aeterna' an eternal, calmly ecstatic moment is symbolized by a single sonorous object that eventually yields significant self-contrast prior to a new understanding.
CaVU attempts to re-imagine and transform familiar aspects of the canonic music through which students necessarily learn their craft. Consequently, it is less a piano trio than a work for meta-string instrument plus percussion. The characteristic timbre of each instrument is less prevalent, though still idiomatic in production. CaVU's pitch content is solely that of the D-major scale, yet without a hierarchical structure, thus rendered pan-diatonic. Phrase repetition is present, but masks itself as reiteration by cycling against a complement to create an ever-changing context. However, there is more to this music than just structure.
CaVU is an acronym known to my late father in his experience as a pilot - Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited.
Currently, there is no programme note for "in arc's umbra."
"in medias res" is a literary construct in which the story opens in the midst of the narrative, often at a critical point, rather than at the beginning. The context of earlier or later events, necessarily elaborated on after this type of opening, attains the particular quality of consistently referring to this central event.
Though this type of narrative structure suggests an approach to compositional form, the sense of existing "in the midst" is more important to this music. The instruments navigate formal sections at different rates, leading to sudden interruptions or subtle shifts of context, reminding us of our destination, our origin, our path.
Although we are surrounded by sound almost constantly, sounds that are deemed art rely essentially on context and, to a lesser extent, setting. Sounds that qualify as art often lose that distinction when they are isolated, though in an empirical way they are no less complex, no less potent emotionally. A Chinese opera gong resonated in this manner some time ago, resulting in a sonorous object stripped of its status as art, existing momentarily as non-art, sounding just as beautiful. The sound was captured, explored, and manipulated with the intention of exposing this omnipresent, context-independent beauty.
Currently, there is no programme note for "Ocean of Storms."
Currently, there is no programme note for "Purity."
"coruscating" is a literary synonym for flashing or sparkling light. This idea is in representation throughout the music, enveloping the listener in a texture of slowly-evolving sonic signals, much as a stargazer is surrounded by the visual signals of the celestial sphere. These signals, individually growing and changing over time, converge to a demented, mechanical apex, prior to a concordant, gently-pulsing epilogue.
Currently, there is no programme note for "kittymuzzle."