Embracing the Wind
Robert Paterson
About this work:
My original inspiration for this piece was the image of an Olympic athlete running against the wind. The process of writing this work eventually shifted me to more abstract thoughts, such as the concept of creating music that sounds flexible and has wind-like, ebb-and-flow qualities. I tried to achieve this by creating “musical zephyrs” from repeated motives, and by creating smooth phrases that utilize gradual dynamic swells and subtle tempo fluxuations. In this sense, Embracing the Wind is perhaps more “minimalist” and “romantic” than many of my other pieces: minimalist in that cells that are repeated over and over again as textural background, romantic in that the form is intentionally less severe and also has a narrative, structural quality.
Year composed: 1999
Duration: 00:10:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Unknown
Instrumentation: 1 Flute, 1 Viola, 1 Harp
Instrumentation notes: Flute doubling Alto Flute.