Hari-Hara (2004) 20'
Instrumentation:
Solo flute, French horn, violin, and synthesized orchestral accompaniment
Premiere:
June 4, 5, and 6, 2004, Dairy Center for the Arts, Boulder, CO with Carol Codrescu playing flute, Richard Oldberg playing French horn, Kailin Yong playing violin, and prerecorded synthesized orchestral accompaniment created by Eric Lindemann's Synful Orchestra.
Awards:
Honorable Mention in the 2005 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers' Competition
Movements:
I (Listen - 16.2MB .MP3)
II (Listen - 4.1MB .MP3)
III (Listen - 6.21MB .MP3)
IV (Listen - 9.18MB . MP3)
Hari-Hara was choreographed by Anna Blackburn Wittman and Peter Davison and performed by students of the Boulder Arts Academy as well as Jennifer Aiken, Anna Blackburn Wittman, Peter Davison, and Becky Walker. The title of the work comes from the Hindu god Hari-Hara who is one half Vishnu the Preserver and one half Shiva the Destroyer. The extremes of musical temperament in the piece echo the duality of this deity. The first movement weaves quickly from one musical world to another. A passage of gurgling winds yields to a fluid violin line which is then transformed into a dainty glockenspiel episode and then a whirling waltz. A desolate bassoon entrance opens the second movement which gradually grows into a frightful mass of chaotic sound with aleatoric lines in the three solo instruments. The third movement sets three melodic lines in the violin, French horn, and flute against a dense mechanistic background of percussion. The final movement begins with a brass fanfare and, continues with a set of variations in the spirit of the classical ballet finale featuring a series of soloist variations. The movement ends with a full realization of a waltz, firsted hinted at in the first movement.