Bending Duration, Breathing Distance (1999)

personnel:

Bending Duration, Breathing Distance embodies a single moment. The opening col legno of the cello is both a sonic and physical invocation. Resonating within one extended exhalation of breath, this action and sound produce both an outward call of the spirit and an inward path to stillness. In this moment, the music folds in upon itself and expands to illuminate layers of consciousness. Melodic threads weave the mind through various energies following a delicate narrative, traveling a vast distance. This composition is a window to a continuous music.

The sonic universe of any composition is established in the orchestration. The accordion, an offspring of the Chinese sheng, has timbral affinities with the reedy dimensions of the erhu. Naturally, the cello also bonds with the erhu as a fellow string instrument. Finally the chordal voices of both the accordion and vibraphone unite into a massive choir, huge gestures emerging from memory.