traces (2022)
for shakuhachi (2.1) and shō
In June 2022 I was invited to compose music for the International Festival of Glass's then upcoming exhibit "Expanding Horizons: Contemporary Glass from South Korea, Japan, and China.” This exhibit displayed works by 34 artists from those different regions.
I was immediately struck by Etsuko Ichikawa's Traces 8114 and Traces 0619. Ichikawa writes: “abstract drawing[s were] made by scorching hot molten glass on heavy paper, leaving the immediate charred tracery of my movement with the fire. This work captures a fleeting moment and eternalizes it, and it is a trace of my body movement with fluid glass.” The shapes on the page intrigued me and recalled certain gestures in my own music that I had wanted to revisit for a long time.
My "Traces" is an improvisatory response to Ms. Ichikawa’s two traces. It was composed for Jinny Shaw who performs sho on this recording. The glass works on the album cover are Ms. Ichikawa's Trace 8114 and Trace 0619. It was looped as an installation at the Expanding Horizon’s Contemporary Glass from South Korea, Japan, and China exhibit in August 2022.
released on devon’s bandcamp page
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