Murmurations

2018

Program Note

Commissioned by Julia Heinen
First performance: August 29, 2018 in Györ, Hungary at the 2018 European Clarinet Festival with pianist Luca Ferrini

A “murmuration” is the phenomenon that results when an enormous flock of birds (usually starlings) form a massive, constantly shifting cloud that seems like one solid but ever-changing shape in the sky. The gestures in this piece attempt to evoke this almost-unbelievable avian group aerodynamic, fluttering up and down and then settling into longer sustained and pulsing tones that shift microtonally above slowly chiming chords in the piano.

About AJ McCaffrey

A.J. McCaffrey is a songwriter and composer of instrumental, vocal and electronic music. With a background in theater, fine arts and literature, and an upbringing that has fostered a love…

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