I Almost Remember began as an experiment with time, musical and physical space, the relationship between composer and performer, and independence/dependence between performers. The arrhythmic sections, which are primarily bowed, create an ethereal effect that disorients the listener’s perception of time. The musical spaces of harmony and phrasing are stretched and relaxed, and the physical space of having four players on one vibraphone that slowly branch off to different instruments creates a visual representation of this.

The first and last sections are fairly indeterminate, leaving more decisions to the performers; whereas the middle section is stricter to the score, leaning more on the composers’ intentions than the performers. And even though the performers are playing on the same instrument in the first and last sections, their parts are played and heard independently from each other; this contrasts with the middle section where physically the players are independent, in that they are each playing their own instruments, but they are playing in time with each other rhythmically, making their metaphysical relationship more dependent by nature.

At the time I was struck by the idea that both positive and negative experiences (particularly when we are young) shape the person we turn into; but the older we get these “fundamental” experiences become exceedingly vague. How odd it is that these moments, no matter how brief, change us to the core; they change the way we think, the way we feel, the way we interact with the world, the way we perceive ourselves, and what we believe, but these memories are often nothing more than a hazy recollection.

I Almost Remember

Joshua D. Tomlinson