Alto sax, viola, piano, percussion (2009)
Listen to an excerpt:
Written for the ensemble Decibel, the music takes the form of an introductory ‘meditation’ which then springs into two fast ‘reflections’, before returning to a concluding slow ‘meditation’. The roles between the two duos of Piano/Viola and Saxophone/Percussion gradually exchange as the piece progresses. As a whole, the piece is structured by a series of poly-rhythms which guide the music from under the surface, and which are starkly exposed towards the end of the second ‘reflection’. The material that weaves around these fixed, structural durations is conversely much more improvisatory, owing much to the influence of serial and jazz music.
Two Meditations and Two Reflections was first performed by Decibel, conducted by Ed Bennett at Birmingham Conservatoire as part of the Frontiers Festival in March 2009.
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