About this work:
Things Heard, Misunderstood (2012) for Alto Saxophone with Optional Live Processing is dedicated to Wisuwat George Pruksavanich.
I began writing this piece about one year after moving to Thailand as a way to digest a few of the things I have learned here. Lamentation uses the six-note tune sung boisterously by an elderly man who walks through my neighborhood about once a month. Initially, I believed he was opening his heart through blissful prayer, but he was actually advertising his drain cleaning services. The beauty, and difficulty, of the Thai language is connected with its tonality and the many intricate timbres of the voice. I have reinterpreted his tune as a deploration by infusing it with my own prayers.
InDeet: Mischievous Mosquito is a playful character piece about those pesky, biting insects we all hate.
Quitetly, Quieting. We have visited many wats (temples) in our travels throughout Thailand. A trip can sometimes provide sensory overload, but it is fun to explore all the new sights and sounds (and smells), while attempting to calm your mind. I find the, mostly, peaceful intermingling of faiths throughout this country admirable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD9OWZvWegk