Speaking

When I compose, I find it useful to imagine the instruments in dialogue with each other. This is particularly true when writing for a duo. In "Speaking", I decided to explore this idea directly, structuring each movement around different types of conversations and interactions. As the piece progresses, I've attempted to guide the listener from the most worldly dialogues to the most metaphysical. The first movement, "Jokes", is very human--the instruments dance and sing around each other, accelerating and decelerating wildly. The next movement, "Night Flight", is more of a robotic, mechanical conversation, with the instruments locked in tandem with each other from beginning to end. The third movement, "Chimes" is a conversation among inanimate objects, beginning with the sound of wind chimes and slowly introducing intentions and emotions that those sounds might imply. This leads directly into the fourth movement, "Earth/Sky", in which I was thinking about more spiritual questions as the instruments converse with each other. I want to thank Connor Mikula, Novus New Music, and the Cortona Sessions for New Music for commissioning the piece in 2015, and to Steven Stucky for his guidance on the piece during the composition process.