Motions of Return
William Susman
About this work:
Motions of Return was composed for Esther Landau, flute and Lee Nolan, piano. They premiered the work at Old First Concerts in 1997 in San Francisco.
Much of his music of the 90s and beyond explore the repetitive rhythms heard in Afro-Cuban music. One such gesture is the montuño a repeated syncopated line or obligato often assigned to the piano which outlines the harmonic structure. In Susman's scores any instrument can play a montuño. He also uses medieval rhythmic and counterpuntal devices called hocket and isorhythm.
Year composed: 1996
Duration: 00:08:30
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Keyboard plus One Instrument
Instrumentation: 1 Flute