debussy palimpsest (2018) for flute, viola, and harp
debussy palimpsest is a musical vandalism of one of my favorite pieces, Claude Debussy’s Sonata for flute, viola, and harp. My work deconstructs several fragments of material from the Sonata, blurring and distorting them until only their roughest contours are recognizable. Swirling textures ebb and flow in a fragile and static sound world, and air effects and tremolos fade smoothly into one another. Lyrical melodies emerge from the texture, rising upward at the end as if insistently asking a question. Occasionally, a fragment of Debussy’s Sonata will surface and then disintegrate, like a crumbling monument, or smoke in a gentle wind.
debussy palimpsest was written as part of the 2018 Bowdoin International Music Festival in collaboration with Bowdoin College Museum of Art. |
Martha Chan, Sebastian Stefanovic, and Molly Langr perform debussy palimpsest at the 2019 Rice Architecture-Arts Performance, alongside choreography by Rice Dance Theatre and a site-specific installation inspired by the music, "Tape Tape Tape Tape Tape" by Alec Tobin, Kaarthika Thakker, Stacy Su and Beril Uzmen.
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selected performances
Mar. 2019 - Architecture Arts, in collaboration with Rice Dance Theatre, Anderson Hall, Houston, TX
Mar. 2019 - Shepherd School of Music Composition Undergrad Recital, Rice University, Houston, TX
Oct. 2018 - New Art/New Music, Moody Center for the Arts, Houston, TX
Jul. 2018 - Bowdoin International Music Festival, Studzinski Concert Hall, Brunswick, ME
Jul. 2018 - Composers at the Museum!, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, ME
Mar. 2019 - Architecture Arts, in collaboration with Rice Dance Theatre, Anderson Hall, Houston, TX
Mar. 2019 - Shepherd School of Music Composition Undergrad Recital, Rice University, Houston, TX
Oct. 2018 - New Art/New Music, Moody Center for the Arts, Houston, TX
Jul. 2018 - Bowdoin International Music Festival, Studzinski Concert Hall, Brunswick, ME
Jul. 2018 - Composers at the Museum!, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, ME