MUSIC - CHAMBER

Quartet: Machine Sounds and Industrial Impulses

I. With violent energy
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II. With gentle longing
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III. Lightly and playfully download III

IV. unifinished

Performed by Momenta Quartet

The rhythm and hum of machines are the vital pulse of modern civilization. Quartet: Machine Sounds and Industrial Impulses recognizes the role machines play in the soundscape of contemporary life. Industrialization has had myriad effects, both positive and negative, on the world’s societies. This work does not ultimately submit a judgment of these consequences, but simply reflects on the sounds produced by our profusely mechanical and electronic lifestyle.

Throughout my day, I am awe-struck by the pervasiveness of machines throughout modern Western society. Machines have long been an important part of our world, and since the Industrial Revolution people have increasingly depended upon the ingenuity of our engineering for their very survival. Truly, our way of life depends on them more than ever before. For better or worse, mobile devices provide an extension of our capacity for memory, communication, and data processing. Automation, computing, and robotics are so pervasive that without them, modern society would cease to function as we know it.

While these feats of inventiveness continue to evolve our way of life, they also alter the sounds we hear each day. It is the inspiration that I draw from these sounds that was the creative thread of Quartet. The first movement draws upon the repetitive nature of mechanized rhythms. Like a logical piece of engineering, it is highly structured. The second movement is free, reflecting upon the awesome consequences this progress brings. The third movement is drawn from the beeps and chimes of our digital extensions. This is a language of noise that we have come to speak fluently: from the buzz of an alarm clock to the bleep of a microwave oven. While this work draws inspiration from the concept of machines, inevitably the music is about where human and machine meet; the contemporary human condition.

NGC 981

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Performed by:
Cynthia Folio, flute
Adam Vidiksis, djembe

Traveling approximately 60 million light years away toward the constellation Aries, one will find an island universe about 50,00 light years across.  This spiral galaxy, named NGC 981, was host to a cosmic moment important to astrophysicists on Earth.  In October 2009, scientists from the US and Japan discovered light from supernova SN2009js, the death explosion of a massive star within the plane of galaxy NGC 981. This work portrays this event, from the intensity of this massive explosion as it ripples through the universe, the immensity of galaxy itself, to the beauty of this colossal phenomenon.

Available through HoneyRock Publishing.

Mismeasure of a Man

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Performed by the NYU Percussion Ensemble

This piece features a large percussion ensemble, consisting of glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba, timpani, and three non-pitched percussionists playing a number of smaller percussion instruments, including snare, toms, cymbals, and a myriad of small percussive toys. The work portrays the effects of prejudice upon the mind. Unrelenting rage consumes this piece. It is found throughout the work, sometimes as a quiet simmering undertone, and elsewhere as an explosive outburst.