Sideways (2016)
4 percussionists
c. 6 minutes
Premiered by Graeme Pennington, Andy Gheorghiu, Mason Caldwell, Daniel Surprenant
Aasen-Hull Hall, Eugene, OR, 23 May 2016
Percussion 1: Vibraphone, crotales (lower octave)
Percussion 2: Medium suspended cymbal, bongos, glockenspiel
Percussion 3: Chimes, medium suspended cymbal, bass drum, crotales (higher octave)
Percussion 4: Marimba, large tamtam
c. 6 minutes
Premiered by Graeme Pennington, Andy Gheorghiu, Mason Caldwell, Daniel Surprenant
Aasen-Hull Hall, Eugene, OR, 23 May 2016
Percussion 1: Vibraphone, crotales (lower octave)
Percussion 2: Medium suspended cymbal, bongos, glockenspiel
Percussion 3: Chimes, medium suspended cymbal, bass drum, crotales (higher octave)
Percussion 4: Marimba, large tamtam
In the third grade, I became fascinated with the books of author and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg. One of my favorite stories was The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (1984), a series of fourteen black and white drawings, each with a single caption. According to the book’s prologue, a man named Harris Burdick delivered these images to a children’s book editor as examples of his work, but was never heard from or seen again.
Sideways is loosely based off of Van Allsburg’s image entitled “Another Place, Another Time” and a story by Cory Doctorow inspired by this illustration. In Doctorow’s interpretation, a young boy whose father is lost at sea becomes obsessed with the idea that one can travel “sideways” in time. He and his friends pump an abandoned handcar out to sea, where they discover other sets of handcars and tracks and children, as if time really is moving sideways. In my composition, I interpret the idea of “sideways” time as suspended time. The harmonies slowly morph from one to another, and the light tapping of the bongos is like the ticking of a clock that occasionally freezes. The effect is meant to be a hauntingly static piece that exists momentarily and disappears as ethereally as it begins.
Sideways is loosely based off of Van Allsburg’s image entitled “Another Place, Another Time” and a story by Cory Doctorow inspired by this illustration. In Doctorow’s interpretation, a young boy whose father is lost at sea becomes obsessed with the idea that one can travel “sideways” in time. He and his friends pump an abandoned handcar out to sea, where they discover other sets of handcars and tracks and children, as if time really is moving sideways. In my composition, I interpret the idea of “sideways” time as suspended time. The harmonies slowly morph from one to another, and the light tapping of the bongos is like the ticking of a clock that occasionally freezes. The effect is meant to be a hauntingly static piece that exists momentarily and disappears as ethereally as it begins.