The title "Stills" alludes to a photography exhibit with curated images that are windows to moving worlds, which may or may not be related to each other. The piece reflects my interest in non-linear narratives—miniatures strung together in a specific order but one that reveals things gradually, jumping forwards and backwards in “time.” The sixteen parts of the piece fall into three categories: Five main pieces, which are the fully bounded, formal works. Shorter, more discursive and exploratory are the interludes, which lack clear beginnings and endings and which are more linearly oriented. Shorter still are the “moments,” which are simply the unfolding of single musical ideas. The moments often make literal allusions to the five main pieces, functioning as foreshadowing and flashback. But the five pieces also resonate with each other even while they are self-contained. The slices of silence between each of the sixteen parts remind us of the edges of photos. The photographs are separate. It is in the listener’s imagination that they may be connected. Thus, edges cannot be avoided but perhaps in our minds they can be—and are—blurred.
Performer Credits
Berglind Tomasdottir, fl/alto fl; Ariana Warren, cl/bass cl.; Batya MacAdam-Somer, violin; David Medine, viola; Jennifer Bewerse, cello; Eric Derr, percussion; Todd Moellenberg, piano; Nicholas Deyoe, conductor
