Program Note

This piece takes its influence from Bach Violin Sonatas and Partitas, and more specifically, from the “implied harmonics” that lie within them. In these pieces Bach integrates a bass line and all the harmonies needed into a single line. This creates a sense of ambiguity and tension that I wanted to focus on, expanding it to the timbral qualities produced by both instruments. For example, the violin harmonics amplify the natural vibraphone overtones, which sound two octaves higher than the fundamental pitch. And the pizzed artificial harmonic notes on the violin have the percussive sound of the attacks on the vibes. The instruments work out their own implications simultaneously, pushing and pulling to create situations of identities. This piece was written with my good friend Michelle Kim’s playing in mind and was premiered in 2007, in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
— Joseph Pereira