Resonance

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2010

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Abstract

Resonance is a composition for flute, cello and piano that is comprised of four unique, yet interrelated movements. These create an overarching form of expansion and contraction over the course of the work. The movements connect with one another on both a micro- and macro-structural level. Each reflects one stage in the evolution of a typical sonic event: "attack", "compression", "growth", and "echo".

 At the most basic level, relationships can be perceived through the duration and instrumentation in each of the movements. Duration of the four movements in minutes is 3,5,8, and 3 respectively.  Movements one and four are most obviously affiliated through duration, both being three minutes.  Also, they are clearly linked in that they are both written for solo instruments. Placing movements two and three in a subset with movement one yields a duration series of 3,5,8  that illustrates an overall expansion in proportional length.  Moreover, this evolution is perceptible by the use of the instruments: movement one is essentially a flute solo; movement two intersperses passages that use all three instruments simultaneously with long solos; and movement three makes prominent use of all of the instruments in combination.  These three movements create an asymmetrical evolution, which is resolved in movement four, returning to a predominantly solo texture.

Registral and textural connections also play a role in unifying the movements.  Movement I ("Attack") is characterized by a rapid and fragmented texture as well as a large-scale shift upward in register, while its counterpart Movement IV slowly shifts downward and the solo cello uses a predominantly sustaining texture.  Movement II ("Compression") begins with a slight upward shift in register before beginning a long descent.  Movement III ("Growth") expands on the upward motion of movement one by increasing the overall range, beginning in the lowest register of the bass flute and gradually shifting to the upper register of the piccolo.

The fundamental relationships among the movements discussed above result in an organic evolution that characterizes the work in its entirety.  The principal organizational strategies of Resonance outlined above fashion an organic evolution that spans all four movements and unifies the piece.

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