In the Stillness

In the Stillness was commissioned by Hudson Bend Middle School from Lake Travis, Texas. I had the opportunity to speak with the students at Hudson Bend several times during the writing process, particularly in the beginning phases. I asked the students what types of sounds and adventures they wanted to hear in the piece. The most popular was a battle scene. As the artist, it is my job to feel inspired and moved into writing a piece that shows my passionate style while remaining unique and honest. I must strive to write a work not yet written in my repertoire or one that is copied from another's. Therefore, I became very excited when I discovered the book The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi. The book explains the process of early Japanese warfare and specifically, swordsmanship. I gravitated to the expert warrior's precision of attack after meditation. The warrior will not attack until he reaches a sense of calm, a stillness, a void where he gains his advantage of clarity against his opponent. While his opponent strikes furiously at the warrior (who easily side-steps a jab or slice) the warrior remains in meditation. And it is only once the warrior sees his path to victory that he will begin his fight. He will not defeat his opponent in an unnecessary rush but with true and measured steps, peaking and falling, much like the rise and fall of a textural crescendo on its way to climax. In the Stillness is a work of measured growth. Its harmonies slowly develop over time. There are several instances where the main event is a crescendo and the following resonance of a chord. Additionally, the overall soundscape of the work is unique. Prayer bowls are introduced as the first sound to reflect the Buddhist nature of Miyamoto Musashi's culture. Metal instruments such as copper bells and chimes are used throughout. The end of the piece features a live wind chime using ensemble players who recreate the idea of chance through varied entrances. Along the path of this soundscape that the warrior navigates is a lyrical thread of motivic melodies. These are pieces of melodies that move from sections of the ensemble meant to enhance the color fabric of the wind band. This style of "organized color" is often found in my works and is created when the entire ensemble pieces a melody together by providing parts of a phrase instead of doubling the entire melody. The resulting sound is bright and surprising in timbre and texture.