Knit Me Together
marimba
(2018)

Duration: 8 minutes, 30 seconds

Premiered August 2018
Josh Graham
Mackinac Island MI

Composer’s Note

Bitonality (two key centers at one time) plays really well into the feeling of holding onto two seemingly logical and conflicting ideas. The internal juxtaposition is hard to balance; sometimes I can prioritize one sonority over the other, but more often than not, the crunches and clashes rise to the top. Every once in a while, these conflicts create beautiful dissonance, a hybrid vantage point that allows me to embody aspects of both “worlds.” Sometimes two key areas are presented one after another, other times they coexist in the same temporal space. Regardless of departures, there is always a consistent point of return.

Additionally, this piece is rooted in water. A joy in knowing where a piece is being premiered is an opportunity to be sensitive to the environment. The sacred powers of water are clear and abundant in organized religions and secular belief systems worldwide. For this piece to be presented in a church, on an island, surrounded by water, inspires the fluid sustain and decay you hear in the instrument, sometimes regular and lilting, others a little unpredictable just as two waves heading in opposite directions meet at dissimilar places in their cycles of rotation.

In corresponding and planning this piece with Josh, I mentioned that “All Creatures of Our God and King” was a favorite hymn of mine growing up going to a Congregational church in Storrs, CT. The tune and text setting were always intriguing to me; is the emphasis “AL-le-lu-ia,” or “al-le-LU-ia?” Also, as an alto, I had all the “good stuff” in my part. Much of the material in this piece comes from the hymn, often in direct quotation. If you know it, you’ll hear it, and let it be an anchor as the piece pushes at the edges of sonic comfort. My relationship with the sacred has always been a point of solace, sometimes simultaneously a source of loneliness and challenge. My beliefs aren’t stable, my momentum waivers often; music and a house of higher power have always been an opportunity to locate stillness and reflect on ideas and moments that hover around.