Name: Sinfonia Kathartica by Mark Adam Sakovich
Duration: 18 min
Description: Certainly the largest work for band I've composed to date, taking influence from David Maslanka's passing in 2017, in addition to other events that were taking place in my own personal life during the years for 2017-2019.

“The horse stood motionless as a rock. He looked like part of that burnt-out landscape. He looked like the steed of Don Quixote carved out of wood by Giocometti. I could see the blue of the sky between his ribs, through the eye sockets of his skull. Dry, odorless, still and silent, he looked like the idea-without the substance of a horse.”
- Edward Abbey, Desert solitaire

Written for violist Erika Eckert, The View From Dead Horse Point is inspired by the primeval landscapes of the desert southwest. Located northwest of the Island in the Sky area of Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park overlooks views of Arches National Park, the La Sal Mountains, miles of barren slick rock, and the Colorado River as it winds through steep, narrow canyons. In this piece, the sound of the viola is processed in real-time through a computer, using the SuperCollider language, resulting in sounds that are reminiscent of the vivid and psychedelic colors of the desert.

In this performance: Rebecca Browne - Violin
                                Kwok Wai Lui - Piano


View From Dead Horse Point - Violin and Piano version

Certainly the largest work for band I've composed to date, taking influence from David Maslanka's passing in 2017, in addition to other events that were taking place in my own personal life during the years for 2017-2019.

Sinfonia Kathartica

Mark Adam Sakovich

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