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

death, hocket, and roll

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

In the forest, glow.
for bass clarinet in Bb, piano, and percussion
Written for the Toy Piano Composers
Recorded by Musikon Concerts

"In the forest, glow." is based on the illustration Don’t Feed the Deer by Brandon James Scott, a Toronto-based artist and also a good friend of mine. His works have a decidedly playful feel to them, especially in his work with animation and illustration. Animals are a frequent subject, often popping up in unusual settings, such as kitchens, bars, and rock arenas. I was originally enamored with Don’t Feed the Deer because it has a mysterious, magical, and yet almost foreboding quality to it. Scott says of the work: “When I originally made it... I wanted to make something dream- like, fantasy-based: the colours, the glows, the design of the world. But are we walking down this path, are we supposed to see what's beyond it? Are we meant to observe but not touch things, because of a hidden danger? Are there always deep dark fears lying hidden amidst beauty?”

In the forest, glow.
Dry leaves crumble underfoot.
A busy quiet.

In the forest, glow. 
Secrets, gossip, mystery. 
Hazy precipice.

In the forest, glow. 
Browsing statues scrutinize 
A subtle order.

-Monica Pearce 2012

In the forest, glow.

"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.

In the forest, glow.

MonicaPearce

Related tracks