PIPES (2020)
For 10 Flutes (1.5.2.1.1)
Duration ca. 8:00
Note: The scheduled premiere of PIPES was cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19. While the piece awaits a live premiere, a virtual audio realization is provided above.
PROGRAM NOTES
“And as I breathed in and held the fire in my lungs,
I imagined briefly that I was the great god Pan,
and that when I exhaled I would be able to play the whole earth
like a set of pipes.”
PIPES embraces the multiple meanings of the word “pipe.” A piece for flute ensemble, the title of course reflects the pipe-like nature of flutes themselves; but it also investigates pipes as a smoking implement and a means of conveyance. Pieces of material are transported from one context to another throughout the work, and a multitude of tight canons lend PIPES’ extended middle section a somewhat hallucinogenic feel.
Commissioned and premiered by the UCF Knights Flute Ensemble. Premiered at the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival, Jeju City, South Korea (August 2020).