EGRET IN THE LIVING ROOM

Composer's Note:

When Elina and I first discussed this collaboration, she mentioned she was interested in “movement, not stillness,” sine waves, and “falling in love with the sound.” She expressed an interest in the Japanese Crane Dance. This last image became the overriding visual inspiration for the music.

I resisted the natural impulse to base the music on Eastern-sounding scales. (A clichéd, knee-jerk reaction in my book! Such images are best left to the dancers.) Instead, I wanted the sound to emerge slowly, develop into harmony, and finally move to clear, brilliant melody. I also intended for the sense of movement to surface gradually. A single pitch sounding in each instrument produces an inner energy and tension that grows into more active lines as the timbres subtly shimmer and transform. These areas of “static movement” appear throughout the piece in contrast to the lively tunes.