and more and more and more and this (2017) for two pianos and two percussion
duration: ca 8.5'
commissioned by and written for icarus Quartet
first performance: May 5, 2018 - icarus Quartet - Saint David’s Episcopal Church in Baltimore, MD
percussion instrumentation:
Percussion 1: snare drum, 2 tom-toms, 3 wood slats, non-resonant junk metal, 3 glass bottles
Percussion 2: kick drum, bongos, 2 non-resonant junk metal, glass bottle, 4 piccolo wood blocks, vibraphone
program note:
and more and more and more and this was written for icarus Quartet and premiered on May 4, 2018 in Baltimore, MD. The primary inspiration for the piece came from the group itself and their incredible dedication to rhythmic vitality and a unification of their ensemble sound, even when performing on disparate instruments. This to me had strong echos of how a percussion quartet functions and so I decided to treat the two pianists as if they were also building their own percussion setup. This lead to both instruments having large sections of the piece with their strings being prepared with mutes and also implementing a myriad of extended techniques (plucking, strumming, scratching, etc).
The title, and more and more and more and this, draws its influence from Eastern religion and philosophy. Like the Heart Sutra, “gone, gone, gone beyond, gone beyond beyond” or the writings of Ram Dass, “go in in in in, further in, oh much further in, oh you’re just begun, keep going back in,” as you reach towards a perceived goal there are only more and more and more possible goals to reach.
“There is a beginning. There is a not yet beginning to be a beginning. There is a not yet beginning to be a not yet beginning to be a beginning.” — Lao-tzu