Tesseræ is also the fruit of a rare close collaboration with a dedicated performer. Marco Fusi and worked closely, first in Rome and later at CIRM in Nice, experimenting with tuning and notation, studying the minutiae of expression and ornamentation, and exploring electronic and acoustic resonance, constantly refining and improving a shared vision of the piece.

The vocabulary of the solo part is deliberately restrained, almost entirely restricted to conjunct, monophonic motion. Long, expressive lines are assembled from microtonal fragments—not traditional modes for the most part, but similarly-derived collections of pitches that could be bits of makam or raga, if only things had developed slightly differently. Tonal centers drift; drones emerge, then modulate…

With obsessive attention to articulation and detail, I sought to emulate the gestural language of the masters, as well as coloristic details of their sonorities. A specially-commissioned wooden mute refocuses the sound, filtering the timbre and altering the balance between the bowed and sympathetic strings—several of which are prepared to buzz in homage or imitation of the javari bridges on Indian instruments. The electronics underscore these phrases with clouds of retuned samples, canonic echoes, and virtual resonance that mimics the viola d’amore’s sympathetic strings.

Tesseræ was made possible in part by support from the Fellows Project Fund at the American Academy in Rome, the Italian Academy at Columbia University in New York City, and CIRM electronic music center in Nice.