bordering into something else
dedicated to Anna Ferro
For horn and ensemble
Instrumentation
- French horn in F
- Cor Anglais
- Clarinet in Bb
- Viola
- Double bass
- Piano
Program Note:
This is a timecode-supported polytemporal work.
There is no programmatic intention in what unfolds as sound in this piece: any or no relationship to the title and the sounding music is forged at the discretion of the composer, performer and listener. Despite this statement, an unfolding of material manifests through contrasting music sections to provide the listener with an experience without programmatic intent. It is the interplay between and within these sections that is the narrative content of the composition.
bordering into something else is for horn and an ensemble of five players. It can be heard as a short concerto-type work for horn. However, the relationship between the horn soloist and the ensemble of soloists in this timecode-supported polytemporal piece does not follow conventional concerto structure or formats but exhibits particularly fluid, entangled relationships that can become perceptually complex.
The material constituting this composition originates from, among other sources, ESOlo I and V, solos for horn and clarinet, respectively, but rather it stems from a complex interplay for small ensemble (2023), the clarinet writing in the each changing series of pieces (2020-2023) that are themselves self-borrowed, transformed and enhanced materials from the violin part in always searching for home (2020), and where those materials were themselves self-borrowed and transformed from the violin 1 part of the 2016 string quartet, observation 5, along with piano material from comparison is the thief of joy (2023).
I am always fascinated by how the combination of different self-borrowed and transformed musical materials affects how those materials interact together in time, constantly changing the combined elements’ vertical, harmonic and rhythmic relationships to alter how this material is perceived when presented in different contexts. These contextual changes can radically alter the perception of the sounding music.
bordering into something else is dedicated to my friend Anna Ferro and written for Norbert Sterk and the New Music ensemble Reconsil.
Duration: circa 15 minutes
© Marc Yeats | December 2023