Simultaneously Solitary - shendos 14 - five Instruments (2013)
Clarinet, Trumpet, Viola, Bass, Percussion
Commissioned by: The Seattle Modern Orchestra
Premiere: October 2020, Virtual “Live” Performance: James Falzone, clarinet; Ray Larsen, trumpet; Maria Ritzenthaler, viola; Abby Blackwell, bass; Bonnie Whiting, percussion.
PURCHASE SCORE (pending publication)
PROGRAM NOTES
Shendos: a graphical notation system that provides a framework, or score, for an improvisation.
The shendos represent musical activity, or intensity, at a given point in time. This intensity can be made manifest through several musical parameters, including dynamics, tempo, interval size, dissonance, texture, harmonic rhythm, rhythmic complexity, rate of change, etc. Any or all of these or other parameters may be used to achieve an audible representation of the intensity level mapped out in the score.
This piece for clarinet, trumpet, viola, bass, and percussion was written for the Seattle Modern Orchestra and premiered in 2020. The piece uses a temporally flexible notation called Shendos, which allows the performers a fluidity in their recording. The piece was recorded “live” using software and video to capture the audio and so all the players could hear each other in real-time. A piece written during the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic, it is an attempt to be together, in these strange new technological settings, while remaining isolated and alone. It is meant to portray both the desperation and anxiety of isolation alongside hope for a reimagined future where we can be together.