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Torn Threads Rewoven (2002)
3/3/3/3; 4/3/3/1; timp., 3perc., hp.; str.; ca. 8:00
Commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony
Premiere
Feb. 16, 2003
New York Youth Symphony, Paul Haas conductor
Carnegie Hall, New York
Read the New York Times
review
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New Music Box
Excerpt MP3 (5 MB)
Torn Threads Re-Woven is my personal response to the tragic
events of Sept. 11th. The title comes from an advertisement I saw in a tailor
shop window while wandering through downtown Manhattan after visiting "ground
zero." Haunted by the devastation that had, up to then, only been images on the
nightly news, I came across the sign which read in large letters: "RE-WEAVING,"
or the process of restoring torn or frayed threads. As I walked passed the
window, this word stuck in my mind. I began to picture "ground zero" as a huge
tear in the physical and emotional landscape of New York City. Re-weaving
threads became a metaphor for both my desire to turn back the clock on the
events of Sept. 11th, that had become so real, and my need to look for hope in
the face of such great loss.
Torn Threads Re-Woven begins with a loud "tearing" gesture in the form of
grotesque glissandi in the string section, landing on the pitch A, played very
passionately. Like jagged edges of torn fabric, this gesture is rigidly
juxtaposed with two other musical "threads": a ritualistic chant, played by
muted trumpets, and a fragment of a simple song, played by flutes and
percussion. These musical ideas become the materials upon which the rest of the
piece is based.
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