Ecstatic Volutions in a Neon Haze

This piece is an unabashed celebration of a ubiquitous isorhythm of popular music (3+3+3+3+4) and a thinly-veiled homage to Terry Riley’s In C. The homage is heralded by the piano’s high C’s, and is made by the open structure of the first half of the piece, in which each player repeats small phrases an unspecified number of times. The structure is at once more rigorously controlled than that of Riley’s work, as each player has different materials and the oboe is featured as a soloist, and more open than In C as the players are afforded the freedom to return to previous phrases taken out of order. This open structure is gradually collapsed, one instrument at a time, into an aligned and fully-notated climax. This experiment in a structural coalescence is a hidden curiosity behind a sensual and groovy musical surface. This piece was commissioned and premiered by the ensemble pulsoptional in Durham, North Carolina.

Six parts are required, and certain combinations may result in slightly larger instrumentations. The following chart shows the six parts and the instrumental parts that are currently available. The original instrumentation is in bold. Many other instrumentations are possible. Please contact me regarding the possibilities.

Lead melody (with solo)
Oboe / violin / soprano saxophone / clarinet

Secondary melody
Acoustic guitar / violin / flute

Bass line
Bassoon / bass clarinet / contrabass

Secondary lower melody
cello

Rhythm section
Piano
Percussion (may be played by one or two players)
Electric guitar / marimba

For discussion of stage setups, see The Interpreter’s Forum

8.5×11 PDF parts set
$30

All scores are published by 

(ASCAP) and © Christopher Adler (ASCAP)