Most nocturnes depict the night; these nocturnes document it. On eleven evenings, from April through October 2021, I started composing the minute the sun set. I stopped when there was no light left in the room. The music is exactly as written on those eleven evenings – no revisions, no edits.
Each section of this piece shifts in character, as a reaction both to the night during which it was composed as well as my awareness of the existing sections up until that point. There are however common musical materials that draw throughlines across sections, from the beginning to the end of the piece. The music took inspiration from that of Marin Marais, traditional Japanese Koto music, and Olivier Messaien's Quatuor pour la fin du temps.
piano, violin, violoncello
approximately 12–14 minutes in length
2021-04