World Enigma 2 (cello or viola solo)

There are two enigmas in this music: the source for the material is the resonance of the cello itself, specifically, the strong first four overtones of the lower strings, and the apparition of a Bach quote. When notes go in fast succession, we focus on the movement; when notes change more slowly, we hear their timbral structure. These two observations govern the evolution of the piece. The additive structure of the first half of the piece presents the listener with the same material repeated, with new material added at the end of each repetition; the cycle point arrives each time with a little surprise, as the first two notes of the piece are at once an opening and closing gesture. Long tones are, by themselves, almost devoid of culture; the faster music becomes, the more associations the listener may build to their cultural knowledge. Thanks to my dear friend Rick Carswell for commissioning this music.

I hope you enjoy this enigma.

BACKGROUND

In 2014 I created a piece called World Enigma 1 for the Chinese two-string fiddle, the erhu, and piano, in which I create a simple music using mainly the five traditional notes of most Chinese music. I created an ambiguous music that enigmatically straddles cultures. I added the "1" to the title because I could see that more of these would come..