208 Days Away

Scene 1. The Smell of Dust and Washing

Scene 2. The Stove Will Cook Anything

Scene 3. A Thorough Approach to Sparkling

In a very general sense 208 Days Away is a piece about anticipation. It’s a piece that embodies the nervous hopefulness of the unknown future and the ups and downs that one goes through while they are waiting. I find when one is focused on the waiting aspect of life, certain mundanities take on added gravitas. In the first part of this piece ‘The Smell of Dust and Washing,’ I wrote a
meditative sequence of harmonic events. The music’s drive comes from varying the duration of consonances and dissonances and leaning on certain sonorities longer than others.

A linking theme of domesticity prevails throughout the piece and the second scene is about the marvel of humans harnessing the power of fire to create the ever useful stove. As a lover of all foods and the culinary arts, it's not hard for me to find parallels between music and cuisine. This groovy number has the silky texture of a perfectly cooked risotto, with the light aromas of pumpkin, nutmeg, and parmesan cheese.

The final scene in the sequence, titled ‘A Thorough Approach to Sparkling,’ takes the listener on a brief journey from darkness into light. Like the gradually appearing sheen that comes from polishing an old cello’s fingerboard that has been caked with years of sweat, rosin, and finger gunk, it finally begins to sparkle.

︎208 Days Away.pdf

Double Bass
B♭ Clarinet

12:00

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