Apparition
for cello and electronics
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Completed in 2023
Duration: 14 minutes Apparition can be performed with an in-ear click track or with a visual metronome, both available from the composer. |
Recent Performances
Eric Guinivan Faculty Recital, Virginia, January 2024 Carl Donakowski Faculty Recital, Virginia, March 2024 2024 Leelanau Summer Music Festival, Michigan, August 2024 JMU Contemporary Music Festival, Virginia, October 2024 |
Videos
Video Performance coming Summer 2025!
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Click the image to view artist Lisa Tubach's video to Apparition
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Program Note
Apparition is an expressive, ethereal piece for cello and electronics. While the piece does not have a programmatic narrative, its emotional core and otherworldly sound was shaped by the imagery of wishing to connect with a lost loved one and express previously unsaid feelings of love, longing, and regret. The piece floats freely out-of-time throughout its thirteen minute duration, and the evolution of its delicate and feathery texture represents the emotional journey of one reflecting on a beloved, lost relationship.
Apparition unfolds across three broad sections. The piece beings with the cello playing gentle harmonic oscillations that are echoed by the electronics. Both parts flow and weave together in a lush, growing tapestry until the cello breaks free into a passionate, lyrical melody as the electronics continue with blossoming waves. In the second major section of the piece, the electronics shift from flowing waves to wispy tremolos, harmonic glissandos, and metallic fluttering. The cello plays a mysterious lament against this backdrop and later plays long, high harmonic tones in alternation with the electronics, as if sending out a signal to the beyond and hoping for a reply. The third major section returns to the wave-like oscillations of the first and reaches new emotional heights before fading into an airy coda that lingers beyond the conclusion of the piece.
The electronics for Apparition are made entirely from cello samples recorded with Carl Donakowski in the fall of 2023. These samples include a multitude of individual harmonics, arpeggiated harmonic gestures, and improvised timbre manipulation on repeated notes and long tones. Apparition was written for Carl Donakowski in 2023.
Apparition unfolds across three broad sections. The piece beings with the cello playing gentle harmonic oscillations that are echoed by the electronics. Both parts flow and weave together in a lush, growing tapestry until the cello breaks free into a passionate, lyrical melody as the electronics continue with blossoming waves. In the second major section of the piece, the electronics shift from flowing waves to wispy tremolos, harmonic glissandos, and metallic fluttering. The cello plays a mysterious lament against this backdrop and later plays long, high harmonic tones in alternation with the electronics, as if sending out a signal to the beyond and hoping for a reply. The third major section returns to the wave-like oscillations of the first and reaches new emotional heights before fading into an airy coda that lingers beyond the conclusion of the piece.
The electronics for Apparition are made entirely from cello samples recorded with Carl Donakowski in the fall of 2023. These samples include a multitude of individual harmonics, arpeggiated harmonic gestures, and improvised timbre manipulation on repeated notes and long tones. Apparition was written for Carl Donakowski in 2023.