Velocity

Description

Flute, Piano — THE EIGHT VISIONS anthologyIn 2005, flutist Marya Martin approached Meet The Composer with a visionary proposal to commission eight composers to write medium-length concert works culminating in a full-length gala premiere concert, a CD, and a published anthology of new music for flute and piano, choosing composers to provide a diverse and engaging group of works that ensures a meaningful encounter with the music of our time.Ms. Martin and Meet The Composer together crafted an approach that aligned perfectly with MTC’s initiative to encourage individual patrons to become actively involved in commissioning new music, and MTC played a key role in coordinating the project as it went forward. The eight resulting compositions by Kenji Bunch, Chen Yi, Ned Rorem, Paul Moravec, Tania León, Eve Beglarian, Melissa Hui, and David Sanford represent not only important new additions to the repertoire, but also serve as a point of departure for teaching tools on instrumental technique and compositional thinking. Collectively, they offer students a unique opportunity to build a progressively deepening relationship with the music of eight living composers.On March 29, 2007, Marya Martin premiered all eight works at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and subsequently recorded them for the Naxos label. Theodore Presser Company released the complete anthology in May 2009, and followed with this “single” in February 2010. The complete EIGHT VISIONS anthology remains available separately from Theodore Presser Company (414-41193), and Marya Martin’s CD of the eight works, performed with pianist Colette Valentine is available on Naxos 8.559629.About Kenji Bunch’s work, Marya Martin writes, “VELOCITY, which I used effectively both as a closing piece in recital and as the opener on my CD, was eminently worth the investment in practice time needed to master its virtuosic finger work and demands on the flutist’s energy reserves.”A note from the composerVelocity was inspired by the “Mannheim Rocket,” a popular compositional technique in the mid-18th century that uses propulsive, wide-ranging arpeggios to heighten the excitement of a work. With the goal of helping to propel virtuosic flute writing into a new century, I wanted to suggest a contemporary treatment of this quirky, fun technique. To this end, my work is made up almost entirely of broken triads and arpeggios, often superimposed between the flute and piano parts, creating bi-tonal clashes.This arpeggio vocabulary shifts in texture from an opening quasi-minimalism to driving, rock-inspired rhythms and power chords, to a lyrical, falling arpeggio in canon that outlines poignant major seventh chord harmonies. A bebop-tinged coda leads to a last virtuoso presentation of the “Rocket.”As a young composer, I’m deeply honored to have been invited to contribute to this project, and I am particularly excited to write for Marya Martin, who has been a dear friend and supporter of my work for nearly my entire composing career. VELOCITY is one of three works I’ve written for Marya so far, and I already look forward to the next!An alternate version of VELOCITY for 2 flutes is published separately (414-41193A). Originally released as part of Marya Martin’s Eight Visions anthology, Kenji Bunch’s energetic and virtuosic duet Velocity for flute and piano duet is now available separately from Theodore Presser Company. According to the composer, “Velocity was inspired by the ‘Mannheim Rocket,’ a popular compositional technique in the mid-18th century that uses propulsive, wide-ranging arpeggios to heighten the excitement of a work. For the advanced player. Duration: 8’