Faraway Within (2023)

Palindrome for percussion ensemble

Commissioned by Western Illinois University for the WIU Percussion Ensemble

Performed on April 18, 2023, directed by Dr. Kevin Nichols

The piece is prepared by recording a performance of it beforehand. This audio recording is then reversed to be played back during the live performance. The (non-strict) palindromic nature of the composition allows simultaneous forward (performed) and reverse (playback) performance of the work.

Program Notes:

Faraway Within is a piece of music that explores time. Most music is experienced in one direction: from beginning to end during a performance in the present. In this, the piece is experienced front to back in the present, and a past recording of the same piece, but in reverse at the same time. Structurally, it is a loose palindrome, so that the forward and reverse performances can be superimposed while maintaining a tonal coherence one might expect from a through-composed piece. There are indeterminate factors within the piece where the performers are given a degree of freedom within temporal structural boundaries, infusing the experience with a sense of uniqueness within every performance while maintaining a grounded, meditative mood. This is a controlled experiment. The intention is that the audience and performers become aware of the piece echoing back from the past as though reversed through some kind of temporal mirror. We are hearing the piece now and listening backward in time to a previous performance of the same piece at once. The title refers to the meditative aspect of reflecting upon mental distance through time; a kind of introspective echo.

Duration: 6' 47"

Instrumentation:

• 2 large marimbas (down to C3)

• 2 vibraphones

• 2 percussionists

  • chimes, concert snare, ride cymbal

  • glockenspiel, medium orchestral gong, woodblock

• recorded playback of piece in reverse