Year composed: 2018
Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola, cello, and projected images
Duration (approx.): 8′
NOTES:
Commissioned by Polish Festival of Portland, Oregon for its celebration of the Centenary of modern Poland’s Independence.
Images must be projected via a projector and screen with the use of Power Point, or possibly other means (contact the composer if you have questions or technical issues).
PERUSAL SCORE
PROGRAM NOTES
Begin, again – commissioned by the Polish Festival of Portland – is a celebration of unity, though the mood of the piece may not make it seem that way. Unity in this instance comes through the perseverance in the face of constant adversity, and a nation which has repeatedly been torn apart and rebuilt.
Starting on a unison A-flat, Begin, again’s texture slowly begins to tear itself apart despite several attempts at remaining on unison pitches. The gestures become more and more wild as time goes on, intervals get broader, rhythms are ever-so slightly displaced to create an evolving, shimmering fabric of sound. All this gives way to a bleak chorus in the lower registers of each instrument before finally resolving to the opening A-flat, closing with a brief quotation from the second movement of Gorecki’s Third Symphony.
Jay Derderian 