odes to the body unsung (2025) for 13 players
longing is an aviary is scored for sinfonietta - 1(+picc, alto fl.)1(+e.h.)10.alto sax.1000.2perc.pno.hp.11110
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I've been thinking a lot recently about music and the body. We react to sound in every single part in our anatomy, from our limbic system to our respiration to our motor system. But when we talk about how our bodies respond to music, we tend to focus on only certain parts – we feel it in our guts, it pulls at our heartstrings, it makes us tap our feet – and ignore others. In this piece, I imagine the music which resonates and activates the “unsung” parts of the body. What would music for the gallbladder, for the eyelashes sound like? Here, I take inspiration from the wonderful poet Sharon Olds, whose odes praise parts of the body that aren’t typical poetic subjects.
“ode to the ligaments of the ankle” is a jagged, raucous folk dance, and “ode to the gallbladder” is a lullaby in warm, pulsing microtonal harmony. “ode to the vertebrae of the spine” reimagines the keyboard percussion instruments as the backbone of a skeleton, and “ode to the eyelashes” unfurls in fluttering wisps. The piece is rendered in a shimmering, dreamlike microtonal language. I invite you to not just listen to this piece, but to feel it resonate in your whole body. odes to the body unsung was commissioned by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition. It was premiered by the Grossman Ensemble, conducted by Timothy Weiss. |
With CCCC Director Augusta Read Thomas and composers George Lewis, Elizabeth Ogonek, and Christopher Stark after their Grossman Ensemble premieres
"His “ode to the ligaments of the ankle” sounds both foreign and familiar...the gallbladder ode is quiet and gentle and features a dreamy and beguiling saxophone solo. ...The final ode, to the eyelashes, was delivered in small gusts of activity — charming flutters."
- Hyde Park Herald |
recording forthcoming!
selected performances
May 2025 - Grossman Ensemble, conducted by Timothy Weiss, Logan Center for the Arts, Chicago, IL
May 2025 - Grossman Ensemble, conducted by Timothy Weiss, Logan Center for the Arts, Chicago, IL