Rise

Thee part work for solo violin and the second part to Casting and Calling. The first movement is a typical prelude though based in improvisation. The second movement takes it;'s theme from a Johnny Cash song of the same title. Took form from consideration of creative dreaming. It portrays a mental gesture: thoughts that drift away during waking dreams, an event I associate with the first hours of darkness. The piece itself is a series of fragments to be utilized in an improvisational setting. The form takes shape around the main rising gestures while the performer has a large degree of latitude to mix elements from the various fragments. Preparation took the form of my daily practice of the motives and exploration of their developmental possibilities. In Rise, I am attempting to create a coherent piece, which generates a consistent soundscape through multiple performances but with the large degree of latitude for different narrative explorations. Rise is harmonically based around the pitch-center of A, which provides a necessary point of reference and sense of gravity for the rising gestures. Influences include Ray Anderson, my explorations with Andy Papadeas of computer generated or enhanced sounds and my ongoing discussions with Hsiu-Hsiu Chang about contemporary music.