Duo Flow
Richard Carrick
About this work:
“I based my Flow Cycle on the flow theory described by psychologist Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi, which identifies a continually moving point "in flow" of the ideal performance that maps onto an x-y chart relating skill level to task difficulty. To stay in flow, the theory goes, one must maintain a balance between the two as they both change through time. This paradigm informs efforts to create interesting performing and learning activities for professionals and children, and I sought to explore this theme as it applies to the act of listening to music. That is, where will a composition go if one conceives of it as a journey of sound exploration that engages the listener with a combination of some familiar elements and other more challenging passages?
The Cycle explores gradual shifts in color and expressivity in a constantly evolving musical thread. First with a violin solo ("in flow"), then a viola solo (Shadow Flow), the emphasis remains (sometimes simultaneously) on long, evolving gestures and the local push-pull of motifs. Duo Flow, the piece performed today, written during the dizzying year of my daughter's birth, brings the violin and cello together to capture the dance and dialogue of instrumental exchanges as each resonates within the extremes of its sonic range.
The four movements of the piece serve as both intermezzo of the larger cycle and deepening exploration of these themes, making both direct and indirect references to other pieces of the cycle (and other pieces I was working on at the time). The Flow Cycle then proceeds to Moroccan Flow (unfolding from unity) for cello, a musical interpretation of "flow" in tracing Islamic mosaics and Gnawa music. The cycle culminates with a string trio, working title:Time Memory Flow á Albert Camus, that offers a startling synthesis of cumulated experiences for the engaged listener.”
First performance November 9, 2007 NYC.
Andrea Schultz-violin, Alex Waterman-cello. Composed October 2007 NYC.
Program notes written October 2008 for New York Philharmonic Ensembles concert October 26, 2008. Eric Bartlett and Kuan Cheng Lu performing.
DUO FLOW in four movements
I inattendu (unexpected)
II agrandir (steady, building)
III sinistre (sinisterly)
IV jeux a deux (playful)
Year composed: 2008
Duration: 11:00:40
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 1 Violin, 1 Cello