Panta Rhei

On interpretation - for fl., perc. Baisley Powell Elebash Recital Hall, The CUNY Gradute Center, NY. Performed by The Vigil Ensemble, April 10, 2013. Live Recording.

Written for amplified flute(s) (C, and Alto) and percussion, this duet explores the timbre possibilities of the pitched/unpitched sounds produced by both instrument families. The overall transformation (progression) from unpitched to pitched material is the main structural backbone of the work: the alto flute starts the work in it’s most percussive self, and as the wood percussion joins and takes over the unpitched material, the flute’s pitches slowly emerge, sometimes violently, as if trying to scape. The work ends with a C flute and vibraphone duo.

On Interpretation

Sound Imagery No.5 - for vln., tape. Performered by Karen Kim. Willow Place Auditorium, Brooklyn. March 20 2015. Live Recording.

I learned from Mario Davidovsky’s music that gesture is as important an element in a work as are all the other traditional elements. I obviously couldn’t avoid his influence while writing this piece (nor I wanted to really). I was decided to explore gesture without the limitations of an acoustic ensemble with this work: the tape part (written out as five independent voices) is quite complex, and the violin sometimes leads, sometimes follows, sometimes silences...

Sound Imagery No.5

Categoriae - for piano & percussion
Performed by Mirna Lekic and Melanie Sehman. May 31, 2013.

I've been stealing Aristotle's titles for my own pieces for quite some time, and thus cannot deny the philosopher's influence on me. Categoriae was at first planned to be a larger work, but as it unfolded I realized that because of the simplicity of its issues (unlike Aristotle's own work…) the piece had to be kept more contained. Imagine a dialogue between four characters: the pitched piano, the unpitched percussion, the unpitched (and undetermined) piano, and the pitched percussion - Categoriae is an enquiry of these relationships. The timbre similarities and disparities between these four characters are a major theme in this work.

Categoriae

for fl., vln., perc. Signal Gallery, The CUNY Gradute Center, NY. Performed by Cadillac Moon Ensemble, December 11 2014. Live Recording.

Alcmaeon

De Anima - for perc. quartet. Centro Cultural Ollin Yolitzli, Mexico City. Festival Puentes. Premiered by Tambuco, November 18th, 2012. Live Recording.

De Anima

Hiraeth mutates from a chamber sextet to a piano chamber concerto halfway through the piece. It is a humble homage to Bach, and his Brandenburg No.5, where the harpsichord emerges from within the texture of the concerto grosso and plays one of the very first extended solo keyboard passages of the genre. The piano in Hiraeth starts simply, facilitating the introduction of the rest of the ensemble. Yet as the piece progresses its energy and intensity starts dominating the texture until it becomes the constant heartbeat that governs the continuity of the music. 

The title is a Welsh word which is hard to translate into English. It roughly means deep longing, similar to the type of longing expressed in Portuguese Fados. The type of longing that resonates through this piece is not a longing for a physical place. It is the longing for a place that doesn’t truly exist, beyond the grasp of the music. 

I want to thank Jason Hardink and the rest of the NOVA Chamber Ensemble for sharing their talent with me.

Hiraeth

Inés Thiebaut (1979) was born and raised in Madrid, Spain. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Music at California State University, East Bay. She holds a Ph.D in Composition from the CUNY Graduate Center (New York). 
 
Her music has been performed by multiple ensembles in the United States, and internationally in Spain, Portugal, and Mexico. For more information on her music and her projects, you can visit her website: inesthiebaut.com

Ines Thiebaut

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