Length: 10 minutes
Composed: 2018
Commissioned By: Joseph Van Hassel with support from a Boston Foundation’s Live Arts Boston Grant.
Premiere: October 29, 2018. Framingham State University. Framingham, MA

Program Note: Fracture is a two-part counterpoint between noise and pitch. In it, the vibraphone’s sonic palette is expanded by placing small percussion instruments directly on the instrument. The vibraphone notes form a calm, floating, underlying melody that continually expands and contracts, yet is emotionally stable and consistent. In contrast, the percussive layer is sharp, rhythmic, and incisive; over time becoming ever more frenetic and anxious. These two layers weave in and out of each other, each developing in parallel with the other, yet never reaching any kind of synthesis or unity.

The electronics act as an extension of both parts. The pitched part is extended through rhythmic loops, building from the pulsing of the vibraphone motor. The percussive notes are extended through an array of short samples, taken from a variety of recordings, with each sample corresponding to a specific percussion pattern or rhythm.