...the silver-plumed reeds tremble (2008) [10']

Premiere: Caleb Herron, Fairbanks, AK, 9/25/08

This piece is derived from the second movement of a larger work titled "Three Haiku," which is scored for flute, guitar, viola, and percussion. The instrumentation was chosen to evoke an Eastern atmosphere, using gongs and finger cymbals, drums, a stone, and a shaker. This solo strips away the counterpoint of the original piece to reveal the percussion's timbral evolutions. The instrumentation was decidedly limited, and this evolution is articulated largely by choice of beater. Neither this nor the original piece are strictly programmatic, but the movements were titled after poems that served as inspiration. The poems were written by Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902). Although the material for this work is derived from the second movement, the title is taken from the first:

  "at the full moon's
  rising, the silver-plumed
  reeds tremble"

Score

Recording: Caleb Herron, percussion