Strata

Strata is a piece for four percussionists that explores the concept of layers in music throughout various applications of a single numerical relationship. Governing in both a vertical and horizontal sense, the ratio of 5:8:11 can be found as the relative spacings between the tunings of the wood slats, the distribution of average pitches in each player’s pair of chimes, the distance between imitative entrances in the canonic sections, and even the length of sections in the formal design. Beyond the extensive use of pattern, Strata also displays a depiction of atmospheric systems (specifically condensation and precipitation) in how simple motives that seem scattered at first will coalesce into textural waves moving about spontaneously. Finally, the stark contrast in timbre between the wood slats and chimes, as well as the interplay between them, suggest yet another way in which layering can be perceived by the listener.

Performance Time: 8’15”

Instrumentation : 4 wood slats and 8 individual orchestral chimes (C#4, F4, G4, A4, Bb4, C5, D5, and E5)