Shifting Sands (2016) – ca. 8'
trumpet and electronics
Premiere performances
Theo Van Dyck (trumpet) and Saad Haddad (laptop) at the Wilson Theater in New York, NY (March 24-25, 2016)
Theo Van Dyck (trumpet) and Saad Haddad (laptop) at the Wilson Theater in New York, NY (March 24-25, 2016)
Additional performances
Eric Rizzo (2022), Theo Van Dyck (2018), Aaron Plourde (2017), Ollie Haines (2017), Alan Wenger (2017), Theo Van Dyck (2018)
Eric Rizzo (2022), Theo Van Dyck (2018), Aaron Plourde (2017), Ollie Haines (2017), Alan Wenger (2017), Theo Van Dyck (2018)
PROGRAM NOTE
Shifting Sands constantly wavers unpredictably between the distinctive strands of Western and Arabic music, seeking to fuse the evocative, other-worldly sound of the maqam (‘scale’ in Arabic) within a Western scheme and tonality. The structure of the work is influenced by tarab, the Arabic word for a continuous state of musical ecstasy. One of the main ideas of the piece involves an undying, repetitive pulse from the trumpet that sets up an uninterrupted framework for the passage of roving scalar runs that dance through the soundscape. In an abstract sense, that music is akin to the monolithic presence of the vast Arabian deserts as a backdrop for the hundreds of thousands of nomads that have traversed their ancient sands.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
2 loudspeakers, 1 high-quality microphone, Audio Interface, and Computer running MAX 6 or higher (free download available here).
Special thanks to Mari Kimura and Nathan Prillaman for the assistance on the electronics involved in this work.
Special thanks to Mari Kimura and Nathan Prillaman for the assistance on the electronics involved in this work.
Alan Wenger at the University of Central Missouri
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Ollie Haines at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London
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