A Missing Moon (2016)

Instrumentation: Solo Viola and Delays (Max patch or Ableton Live Set file available for performance)
Duration: 5:00
Commissioned by: Kieran Welch
Premiere: Kieran Welch at "Dots+Loops: Delay", March 2016
Additional Performances: Kieran Welch, Sonic State: Indie-classical, 11 June 2016; Kieran Welch at Backstage Music Series, Creative Space 99, Sydney, 6 July 2019.

Program Notes

A Missing Moon uses delays to create a kind of canon in three parts. The live viola part has two long echoes, which - unlike a typical canon - do not fall in the same place in the bar as the original. The delayed copies are slightly offset rhythmically, allowing them to interlock in complex ways. Small fragments and gestures tesselate with their delayed counterparts, forming melodic runs, arpeggios, and chords.I was thrilled to be asked by Kieran Welch to compose this piece - a dear friend and an inspiring player - and so it is written with Kieran’s musicality in mind. Electronica and post-minimalist influences mingle with an almost architectural construction, allowing the rich tone and timbral range of the instrument to come alive.