Vignettes (2020) – ca. 10'
solo piano with scordatura
Commissioned by Young Concert Artists, Inc. for pianist Aristo Sham
Premiere Performance
Aristo Sham (piano) streaming online (December 9, 2020)
Aristo Sham (piano) streaming online (December 9, 2020)
PROGRAM NOTE
Vignettes is scored for scordatura piano, requiring re-tuning four of its pitches to achieve a harmonic vocabulary that is analogous to the musical language that I primarily compose in: the extended maqamat, or Arab modes. The pitches are lowered a quarter tone to create microtonal-inflected scales, idiomatic of Arab instruments like the oud (lute), qanun (zither), and nay (flute). Through the mechanical manipulation of C3, D#4, A4, and F#5, I aim to evoke the nuanced gestures that find its origin from that part of the world. All the scenes in this work depict many styles of Western-centric music which are explored through the lens of this aural manipulation, from Bach to Debussy to Cage, and several others in between. The question I posed to myself while writing this work: what would these composers do if they had access to this harmonic landscape? The result is my own personal reflection on these masterworks for the piano that we all love.
This work uses the same scordatura piano tuning as Gérard Grisey's seminal 1995 work, Vortex Temporum. It is advised to program this work as a possible opener for that work.
This work uses the same scordatura piano tuning as Gérard Grisey's seminal 1995 work, Vortex Temporum. It is advised to program this work as a possible opener for that work.