Spring Rotations
Solo marimba • 2022 • 6'
Artwork by Stephanie Swilley
Program Note
Spring Rotations (2022), for solo marimba, is a short piece that began as an exercise using the artist prompt "Spring." I resisted the urge to quote Stravinsky's Rite of Spring as well as going down the path of wordplay like the "Wrong of Spring," but I kept the Stravinsky inspiration with use of the set (0257) which is used heavily in the Rite of Spring. Additionally, the work takes inspiration from Stravinsky in his use of rotational arrays. Spring related concepts like crop planting, rows, rotation, and growth were used to determine the narrative of the work and aided many compositional decisions.
Spring Rotations focuses on the use of rotation as a tool for development and is intended to serve as a gentle introduction to irrational time signatures. Additional techniques used to develop materials include isorhythm and a custom infinity series. Spring Rotations is a continuation of the composer’s research into computer-assisted algorithmic composition. It was composed with use of the software Common Music/ GRACE and Max.
Movements
- Seeds and the path
- Ebb and flow of the land
- From roots until the last leaf
- Passing time - contemplating harvest
Performance Information
Performance information coming soon.
Recording