Erisian Cycles
Brandon Vaccaro
About this work:
Notes from the composer:
Erisian Cycles was composed for the University of Denver’s Williams Carillon, and carilloneur Todd Fair. The piece is in five sections loosely based on the Discordian calendar. The calendar is based on the idea that the universe exists in a cycle that begins with Chaos. Through the imposition of order, states of Discord, Confusion, Bureaucracy, and finally Aftermath result.
To represent this cycle, I use several motives that undergo a variety of transformations. In the opening section, these ideas are fragmented and isolated, with little attempt to relate them to one another. In the following sections, various methods relating these motives are used to represent the imposition of order. In the Aftermath section, these motives return to their fragmented state, though there has been some transformation of the original ideas.
Within each section, I drew on various impressions of the carillon. During my time at the University of Denver, I would often catch short fragments of music while walking from one building to another. One day, I might hear a fragment of a chorale, and the next, a driving ostinato piece. I was also fascinated by the potential for overlapping sonorities and transformation of pitch collections though liquidation. The five sections explore these aspects of the instrument.
Version: 65-Bell edition
Year composed: 2004
Duration: 08:00:20
Ensemble type: Keyboard:Unknown
Instrumentation:
Instrumentation notes: carillon