a place where it rains (2027)
for three players [45:00]
a place where it rains has its roots in a desire to explore rhythmic cycles, microtonal modulation, carefully chosen timbres with electronic extensions. Equally important for me was the idea of composing first hand: music that I would perform myself, and that meant (in contrast to the standard concert work) not to really travel: a bespoke work for an arsenal of customized instruments. The procedures of various musical traditions—from West Africa to Java, the Caribbean to Southern India—provide a backdrop inspiration for busy percussion textures, but none is explicitly referenced; rather, they are reimagined in a context distanced from the associations that their resonance inevitably provokes.
The first movement, Blades + Tines, concentrates on the sound of pitched metallic resonance.One percussionist plays an mbira (think of it as the alto member of the family), the second plays a kalimba (soprano) attached to a marimba (bass); all three instruments feature plucked metal tuned to a quarter-tone mode shared by the Fender Rhodes. Interjections from small percussion instruments and a metal balafon are heard, first acoustically then through a unique array of eight speakers—two monitors, two coffee cans, a calabash covered with bottlecaps, an overdriven guitar amp, and transducers affixed to two instruments: an autoharp and an Indian swarmandal/tanpura. The injection of varying degrees and types of “buzz”—bottlecaps, overdrive, jivari bridges, bitcrushing, cymbal rivets—introduces an element of noise that shades pure resonance.
The final movement, Strike + Strum, deals with contrasting materials: free reeds (on the melodica and harmonica) and steel strings that are hammered (santur) or gently strummed (autoharp). Again, all are retuned to a microtonal scale. Each movement builds toward a cymbal crash that triggers a moment of pure electronics, a sound file gains a layer with each appearance until a final swish triggers a minute of swirling, bit crushed cymbal resonance: an abdication of pitch and color in a final prolonged and processed wisp of noise.
a place where it rains was commissioned by line upon line Percussion and was premiered March 3, 2027 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.