death, hocket, and roll for two toy pianos
performed live by HOCKET @ California State University Long Beach - - September 16, 2015

death, hocket, and roll

Performed by Barbara Pritchard
Premiered on "Fantastic" by Musikon Concerts
Recorded by Bob Bauer

"houndstooth", a black and white duotone pattern that is characterized by its abstract four-pointed shapes, originated in Scotland as an outer garment for shepherds in the 19th Century. By the 1930s, however, it had morphed into a symbol of wealth by the upper class (particularly the British monarchy) and was adopted into use by prominent fashion designers of the day. By the 1960s, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel all contributed to bringing the pattern to women’s wear, and it became a distinctive pattern for a generation of women in the workplace. 
 
Using the houndstooth pattern as inspiration, this solo work explores the concept, using the pattern as a starting point for harmonic material, and by considering the characteristics of houndstooth as guiding the tone of the piece - luxurious, bold, clear, and organized.  In addition, there is a visual element - yards of houndstooth fabric on the floor of the stage. 

"houndstooth" is the second in a set of a multiple-work piece based on the history and associations of various textiles/patterns. In each of these works, the textile or pattern is used both as inspiration (history, tone, physical characteristics) and as a physically present element, either visually or sonically. 

"houndstooth" was written for and dedicated to Barbara Pritchard. 


houndstooth by Monica Pearce (Barbara Pritchard, piano)

Live recording by Transient Canvas in Atlanta, GA, April 2016.

PROGRAM NOTE: ripples, for bass clarinet and marimba, takes its name and inspiration from marimba roll technique. Traditional rolls alternate between the hands, while ripple rolls treat all four mallets (two per hand) independently. Ripple rolls therefore have a more amorphous character than traditional rolls. This piece highlights the difference between the two, with harmonies drawn from the instruments' spectra and melodic material inspired by Indian classical music. It was written for Transient Canvas.

ripples (bass clarinet & marimba, 2015)

Hee Yeon Kim, violin; Candace Thomas, horn; Brandon Banks, piano

Program note:
Rivermist is a non-programmatic work concerned with typical musical ideas like harmony and texture. As I wrote it, the ebbing, flowing, and undulation of the music began to make me envision cool mountain streams.

Rivermist (violin, horn, piano, 2015)

Vid Smooke performing "down.stream" for solo toy piano and looping pedal, at Opensound Boston, February 11, 2017.

Smooke at Opensound

"down.stream" for solo toy piano and looping pedal by Vid Smooke

"O ocean of mercy, oft longing I've stood
On the brink of thy wonderful, life-giving flood!
Once more I have reached this soul-cleansing sea,
I will not go back till it rolls over me."

“Salvation (what was needed most)” takes its inspiration from an interview collected by Newfoundland playwright Robert Chafe, where a respondent talks about their memories of Newfoundland’s confederation in 1949 in Carter’s Cove. Both the tone and content of this particular interview resonated with me, as it reminded me of my paternal grandparents who are the same age as the respondent and lived for most of their lives in Triton, just a short boat ride across Notre Dame Bay from Carter’s Cove. 

My grandparents, James and Marie Simms, didn’t have many memories of confederation – just the poverty of a childhood in the region, where Marie grew up in a tilt rather than a house. James recently died, and Marie’s memory is sometimes patchy. After reading through Robert Chafe’s text, I called my grandmother to ask her about her musical memories from 1949. I was hoping to hear about folk music endemic to the region my family is from. Sadly, she told me that she could only remember one song at all: “O Boundless Salvation,” a Salvation Army tune. In honour of my grandparents, this piece is based on that song by William Booth, and all of the material stems from this hymn. Because of this choice of source material, the piece is a somewhat radical departure from my usual musical language, but one that seems appropriate in remembrance and dedication to my father’s parents.

Like most families in the Greenbay South area of Newfoundland, the Simms’ were staunchly religious. They were proud of having ancestors that brought the Salvation Army faith to that part of the island, and indeed most of the former Methodists had been converted “to Army.” They didn’t drink alcohol or sing folk songs – they had a tradition of prayer, hymn, and salvation. And, to hear my grandfather talk about it, that’s what was needed most in such a difficult, impoverished climate: salvation.

Performed December 8 in D.F. Cook Hall by Nancy Dahn (violin), Tim Steeves (piano), and Amy Collyer-Holmes (cello.)

Salvation, or what was needed most (piano trio) ((live performance))

music by Elise Letourneau, text by St. Francis of Assisi

recorded May 2012 in Ottawa ON

National Youth Choir, Ivars Taurins/Joel Tranquilla directing

Peace Prayer - National Youth Choir

Ryan Hillier & Kiera Dall'Osto. Written and recorded June 25-26 2013 in the woods of Salisbury, NB.

houndstooth by Monica Pearce (Barbara Pritchard, piano)

MonicaPearce

Related tracks