Three Stones › 2010
septet | 35:00 | for Ludovico Ensemble
[instrumentation: flute (alto/picc), clarinet/bass, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello]
premiere: Ludovico Ensemble & Jeffrey Means, conductor; March 22, 2011 at Boston Conservatory
mvts:
I. Malachite
II. Agate
III. Bismuth
n o t e s
The three stones which provide the titles of the movements of this piece have special meanings to humans. Malachite was once prized for its supposed medicinal purposes, and was aggressively mined. Agate was once considered a precious stone for its banded patterns, but because of its frequent natural imperfections it is no longer widely sought after. Bismuth is a synthetic metal manufactured primarily for industrial uses, and its brilliant colors are purely incidental.
Each of these stones has held a position of great importance to humans at some point. My piece is constructed out of canons which represent the relationship of pursuit that we share with the stones. The canons do not follow conventional rules- the first is in rhythmic unison, while the pitches are ordered canonically. The remaining ones treat rhythm flexibly, but each employs a single melody.
score: pdf download | hard copy
