The Windowed Present
Clarinet, violin, cello, piano | 2020 | 5'
Composed for Unheard-of Ensemble
Past performances:
Premiered by Unheard-of Ensemble, University of Wyoming, Mar. 21, 2024.
Recorded in lieu of performance by Ensemble Signal, cond. Brad Lubman. June in Buffalo, Jun. 2021.
Recorded in lieu of performance by Unheard-of Ensemble on CCI Sessions, Vol. 2 by Unheard-of Ensemble; released Feb. 1, 2021.
This work is partially inspired by the concept of "multiply-directed time," found in the writings of Jonathan D. Kramer, which describes how objects in musical time can create multiple and conflicting time-streams. Another source of inspiration is the concept of "the specious present," as discussed in the writings of William James; this is the brief amount of time that the human mind can perceive as a moment, or a "now." These fleeting windows of perception are represented by the measures of the piece, in which past, present, and future are combined and reinterpreted through a semi-systematic approach. Though we move inexorably through time, resonances abound across musical time-space, bringing past, present, and future into one consciousness.
