Breathing ritual (Inflorescence V)
2012 | for Soprano, percussion and piano
In drawing extensively upon the four preceding pieces for its materials, this capstone work is unique in the Inflorescence collection. It also extrapolates from my fragmentary recollections of ideas for an unfinished composition that used the same original French-language text, which I wrote around 1990. The poem, “Respiration,” permeates not just the vocal part of Breathing ritual, but also the instrumental writing, where its rhythms resonate and its sounds often guide both melodic inflection and harmonic quality. This fifth inflorescence was commissioned by the 2012 soundSCAPE Festival for Tony Arnold, Aiyun Huang, and Thomas Rosenkranz, and is dedicated to them in friendship and admiration.