When writing "a force that starts a body into motion," I thought a lot about the distinction between the word 'impulse' as it is defined within the field of physics versus its meaning within common usage ("impulsive"). The latter implies a sudden urge to act with intuition and very little premeditation, while the former is described as a brief transfer of energy, measuring the impact of force over time.  This work navigates a blurry line between “impulse” and “impulsive"– each strike of the metal instruments premeditated, guided by perception, almost predictable in the regularity of each attack, decaying in both the measurable physical sense and the immeasurable individual perception.            

For Metal objects and Vibraphone.

Commissioned and Performed by Matthew Carey.

A Force That Starts A Body Into Motion (2021)

“Prayer fragment”, features my grandmother, Homa Khalilian, chanting a fragment of a tablet by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in Farsi. I set her voice to music through a process of listening and improvisation– interacting with the sensation of tone in her voice while trying to use as little material as possible to present one possibility or path in the endless sea of possibilities for transformation in her voice. 

This recording is dedicated to my late father, Ramin Khalilian (1960-2021).

Text:

هوالابهی 
ای جانفشان یار بی نشان ! هزار عارفان در جستجوی او ولی محروم و مهجور از روی او اما تو یافتی و شناختی تو نرد خدمت باختی و کار خود ساختی و علم فوز و صلاح افراختی .
طرفه حکا یتی است و غریب بشارتی  آنان که جستند ،نیافتند . آنان که نشستند یافتند . استغفرالله! جستجویشان ،جستجوی سیراب بود نه تشنگان و طلبشان ، طلب عاقلان بود ، نه عاشقان،
عاقلان خوشه چین از سر لیلی غافلند این کرامت نیست جز مجنون خرمن سوز را عاشق نشسته به از عاقل متحرک
والبهاء علیک. ع ع

Unofficial Translation:

هوالبهی
O friend who selflessly gives his life! A thousand mystics are looking for him, but deprived and separated from him, but you found and came to know him and climbed the ladder of service and did your work, and achieved the knowledge of victory and goodness. 
It is an interesting tale, and a strange epic– those who sought it did not reach it, those who sat down found it, God forbidden! In their search they were quenched, not thirsty, their search was for the prudent and not the lovers. 
The wise men of good character are unaware of the secrets of Leyla, the only one that knows is Majnun, whose heart is burning. The lover sitting is better than the prudent moving.   
والبهاء علیک. ع ع

Prayer Fragment (fixed media)

String Quartet No.1 "Consciousness"

Recordings sampled: 

"...be tamashaye tolue khorsheed." (Rose Hegele (soprano) / Vanessa Holroyd (flute) / Timothy Hanley (clarinet) / Natalie Calma (violin) / Brianna Tagliaferro (cello) / Kevin Madison (piano). 

My own personal recording of "Tasveer-e sokoot" (for 3 bowed acoustic guitars)

fragmentation/reintegration (2020)

"Tasveer - E Sokoot" For Bowed Acoustic Guitar

Rose Hegele (voice)
Vanessa Holroyd (flute)
Timothy Hanley (clarinet)
Natalie Cristina Calma Gómez (violin)
Bri Tagz (cello)
Kevin Madison (piano)

"...be Tamásháye Tolúe Khorsheed." (for Pierrot ensemble)

Performers:
Matthew Carey, Marimba
Inés Sánchez Benito, Soprano Saxophone
Jack Yarbrough, Piano
Walter Yee, Clarinet
Grant Bingham, Bassoon
Rose Hegele, Voice
C. Neil Parsons, Bass Trombone
Brianna Tagliaferro, Cello
Emily Wiebe, Horn

Recording at Boston Conservatory Seully Hall (2020)

a slow moving object

Performance by Hannah Soren

Based on a poem by Abbás Kiárostamí

kiancomposer

Popular tracks