Ficta
for violin and trombone
2011
commissioned by Steven Parker and Molly Emerman // premiered December 8, 2010 – Tatui, Brazil
duration: 7 minutes
Program Notes:
The unlikely marriage of the violin and trombone was a fascinating inspiration for Ficta. Although the differences between the two are clear, I was more interested in their common traits, which I wished to exploit as much as possible. My first thought turned to their ability to play non-tempered pitches and the relative ease with which they can perform glissandi. Throughout the piece, the identities of the two are interwoven and juxtaposed.
Ficta was written for the Folk Re-Imagined project undertaken by trombonist Steven Parker and violinist Molly Emerman, which sought to discover new connections between modern art music and folk music from various sources. In lieu of a found source, I attempted to construct folk music from an imaginary culture – cryptomusicology, if you will. The opening is a setting of an imagined vocal lamentation, while the second section is clearly a dance tune. The listener is free to fill in any details on the imagined culture presented, but please don’t touch the artifacts.