STREAMS IN STASIS

2022 - Mixed Chamber Ensemble (Pierrot)

DETAILS

• Instrumentation fl(doubling picc & bfl),cl(doubling bcl),vln,vc,pf

• Duration 10 mins

• Composed Oct. 2021 - Apr. 2022

• First Performance Glasgow 3 Oct. 2022, performance by the Hebrides Ensemble: Hannah Foster(flute), Jean Johnson(clarinet), David Alberman(violin), William Conway(cello) & Marianna Abrahamyan(piano)

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DESCRIPTION

When something moves slowly enough, it can appear as if it’s in frozen in static state. This is true for physical phenomenons such as trees growing and glaciers melting, and for social phenomenons such as political trends and globalization. A core trait of music as an art form is that it exists temporally, and depending on the musical material it might appear like a stream of continuous notes and sounds, or as a soundscape suspended in stasis. 

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Streams in Stasis explores this duality, with a strict pitch material based on a 12-tone row and its variations. The row and the matrix is both static and dynamic: the intervals never truly change, but because of the combinations available through inversions, permutation and rhythmic variation there is still a true sense of forward motion. Once a row has been played it is never heard again, and so there are constant streams of new notes and material, even when the music seems like it’s in stasis.