Composed for flutist Mark McGregor and percussionist Brian Nesselroad for Vancouver Pro Musica’s “Further East, Further West” concert series.
Diaspora
2010, 15”.
For flute and percussion.
Program notes
Diaspora is a reflection on the ways in which cultures evolve and interact, differentiating themselves from their shared origins, developing independently, and eventually reconnecting. This image of cultural identity is fluid and dynamic, involving continual struggles for individuation, as peoples work to define themselves both in relation to their own heritage as well as to their neighbours. Like two peoples that have spent a long time developing without contact with one another, the flutist’s typical sonic repertoire bears little immediate resemblance to that of the percussionist; however, by disassembling the sonic materials of these instruments, the piece finds certain basic commonalities between them. The work develops through processes of disentanglement and re-entanglement, as the essential sonic elements evolve in different ways in the hands of the two performers, who share and re-interpret their respective innovations. Although the piece touches upon certain idiomatic archetypes, both in terms of flute and percussion performance techniques as well as Eastern and Western musical styles, these archetypes are quickly subverted as each part continues to re-invent itself and interact with the other.
