Anechoic Rhapsody

Anechoic Rhapsody was written at the start of the COVID 19 pandemic as the world was being asked to shelter-in-place.  The world changed overnight and brought with it an intense quiet and solitude never before experienced.  Heartbeat and breath became audible and reflection was inevitable.  It was enough to drive one mad and also a potential source of healing.  The periodicity of breath and heartbeat are central to the work and take the form of repeating gestures that undulate and pulse.  At times, the pulsing is even in nature and at other times it varies widely in speed progressing rapidly between slow and fast tempos.  At other times, the pulses of the various instruments diverge from one another and there is something akin to a sense of drifting into reverie.  The range of experience spans from meditative to untethered and the work ultimately climaxes with the piano alone, a voice that had remained relatively subordinate until this moment, as if consciousness itself was awakened and moved by a revelation.

The anechoic chamber, referenced by the title, is a completely soundproof environment used for testing audio products and it is reported that most people cannot stay within it for longer than 45 minutes at a time, some needing to leave immediately.  The awareness of one’s own blood flowing through organs and the sound of bones moving at the turn of a head can bring awareness as to the fragility of life.  A frightening prospect, but it is precisely this fragility that also makes life so precious and what causes us all to dream beyond the confines of our experience.  There is beauty and healing in the quiet.  This work was commissioned by the Civitas Ensemble and dedicated to Judy McCue, all of whom engaged in the process of developing the concept behind this work and to whom the composer is truly grateful.