Nick Bentz THRASH/counterTHRASH
for piano trio
Shattered Arcana Press
performance notes
--strings
-triangular notehead – play the highest note possible on the string marked.
-pressure trill – vertical trill between harmonic pressure and normal pressure in the left hand.
-upside-down triangular notehead – use half pressure in the left hand (in between harmonic pressure and ord.); pitch is exact.
-square notehead – use half pressure in the left hand in between harmonic pressure and ord.); pitch is approximate.
--bow pressure overpressure scratch
pitch noise
--bow placement pocosulpont sylpont moltosulpont
--piano
-square notehead – palm mute inside the piano
Perusal copy notforperformance
--general
-accidentals last through the bar without octave displacement
-glissandi last the entire duration of the note marked
-trills that occur across glissandi maintain their intervallic range as they go up or down
-transitions in technique: arrows with filled bodies relate to changes in bow pressure arrows with dashed bodies relate to changes in bow placement
program note
In this piece, two antipodal textures are established and juxtaposed against each other, one centered around a maximal construction of elements, the other based on a minimal treatment of material. The body of the piece consists in the gradual metamorphosis of one material into the other and vice versa; the maximal texture is slowly scrubbed of details, gestures, and pitch material, while the minimal texture gains activity and motion as it sits in space.
THRASH/counterTHRASH was commissioned by Copland House for its CULTIVATE 2021 emerging composers’ institute, and was premiered by the Music from Copland House ensemble. CULTIVATE 2021 fellowships and commissions were funded by the Amphion Foundation, ArtsWestchester, ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Friends of Copland House, Jandon Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, NewMusicUSA, and New York State Council on the Arts.
Perusal copy notforperformance
*- square noteheads in string parts = half-pressure and approximate pitch
** - upside-down triangle noteheads in string parts = half-pressure and exact pitch
Nick Bentz (2021)
