The Ice Is Talking
Work Overview
Instrumentation: solo percussion and electronics
Commission: Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity for percussionist Aiyun Huang
Premiere: Banff Centre, July 7, 2018, Banff, AB, Canada with Aiyun Huang, percussion, and Henry Ng, sound engineer
Duration: approx. 12 minutes
Program Note
I grew up in Edmonton, and every year my family would vacation in the Canadian Rockies. I would greatly look forward to seeing the mountains, the majesty of the giant silhouettes, the clean, crisp air, and the proximity to nature and wildlife. I was invited back to the Banff Centre last year and decided to visit the Columbia Icefields as a bit of nostalgia for my childhood. That trip pained me deeply when I saw how much the glaciers had receded since the last time I was there, about 20 years ago. “The Ice Is Talking” is a work that is an emotional reaction to that experience.
Scored for a solo percussionist and electronics, it features the percussionist as the protagonist “playing” on a block of ice. At the start, it is a celebration of the elements, taking in the beauty of a blade gliding through ice, the taps and swishes of ice being shaped into virtuosic rhythmic patterns that speak through interjections by the performer. As the piece progresses, the piece becomes more and more violent, and the instruments reflect the rage and intensity of the protagonist, with a power drill, ice picks and stabbing motions reflecting the realization of human’s ill effects on the natural landscape. It ends with dramatic flair in the hope of raising awareness to the world around us.
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Score and accompanying files can be purchased below.
Errata List
Artists are welcome to contribute any errors or notes for this work on our collaborative errata list.
