A dark abstract adagio that exploits the sonorities of the woodwind and brass choirs by separating them on stage. Further spatial sound is achieved through an off-stage right flugelhorn and off-stage left percussion. A dramatic quiet ending fuses together blocks of woodwind and brass chords. Uses asynchronous events and layers of sound to create an Ivesian numinous sound world. Completed in 1994 and commissioned by the Air Force Band of Flight, Dayton, Ohio. Also available for orchestra. Visit www.jamessyler.com for more information.

Fields

In Restoration, I mourn the loss of my strength. The harmonic language features stacked seconds that are resolved like suspensions. After the mourning section comes a chorale whose first three notes are the same as the stack of seconds at the beginning of the movement. After getting a basic idea of shape, I composed words to approximate my prayer for restoration and guidance in righteous paths. I then used the words to generate a melody influenced by the chorales “A mighty fortress is our God” and “If thou but suffer God to guide thee.” Phrases are ended with dissonances to illustrate the realism of the situation. The chorale is followed by a return to the harmonic motion from the start of the movement but scored more fully. The first motive from the heroic theme, do-sol-te, returns transformed into do-sol-ti. This shift illustrates a partial healing with hope for more. 

Optimum III. Restoration

GOING WITH THE FIRE, composed for flutist Mary Posses, is the third in a series of works that utilize only the solo instrument as the source for the taped sounds.  The piece embodies the flash of creative fire that inevitably takes over as the work begins to gel.  After the equally inevitable frustration period, with idea after idea, suddenly the grid unlocks, the boundaries slip away, and I find myself giving up the formal structures and preconceived notions, and simply going with the fire.

Going with the Fire for Flute and Fixed Media

for flute and fixed media (stereo)
for Kayla Hanvey, flute

The word “viscid” refers to the tight, squeezed feeling of hearing two pitches very close to each other played at the same time. Even two pitches side-by-side on the piano (a half-step, D and D# for instance) have a certain tension when played together. This piece explores and relishes in this tension, creating moments of even stronger compression via microtones; these intervals closer than a half-step create a sticky texture one might describe as viscous, or viscid. The flute player interacts with this tension, taking part in it at the beginning and end, but staying above it for most of the piece. The accompanying material is all derived from recordings of the flute.

Optimum III. Restoration

Aaron Kline

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