Music

feel fragments

for oboe, cello, and marimba

Listen

Premiere

Premiered virtually on October 11, 2023 as part of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Cycle 15 Bahlest Eeble Readings Program

Duration

8 minutes

Program Note

Feel Fragments takes its name and inspiration from Hannah Ensor’s and Laura Wetherington’s poem and fragmented nature. With this piece, I thought about the relationship that fragmentation has in my work. For one, I was interested in creating a piece that was more rhythmically driven, straying a bit from my usual compositions, but also dealing with the feeling of pushing, and pulling. As a result, the work begins with an agitated 5/8 dance with a consistent pulse, oscillating between two simple harmonies, and looped fragmented gestures. It then transitions into a world completely opposite from that: something that’s spacious, dreamy, vague, but finding clarity and imagery. The final part fo the work goes back into a more consistent beat in a loud, rough, and defiant manner. Feel fragments grabs and juggles through various moods, cells, and ideas, but in an interconnected way.