A Corvid History of Light (2011)

This music was conceived on the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. In the darkness of the deep winter, in the early process of composing, a deluge of imagined sounds overtook me, as in dream where ideas freely intermingle and logic is extraneous.

 

The process of extracting and distilling tangible music from that initial state of unadulterated inspiration ran parallel with the illumination of spring.  Some say ravens, members of the corvid family, are associated with creation, that ravens venture into the darkness to steal light for the world.  For me this represents a primary challenge for artists, who travel vulnerable into unknown realms, and try to bring something tangible back into the light to share with others.

 

This piece was commissioned by the Chicago Composers Orchestra and premiered during their first season in June 2011.