to relinquish, surrender, turn over
Out of the blue I have a private commission from Susan Grant and Lawrence Maisel. I am delighted – this is very special. Usually I am commissioned by an ensemble or an organization who has applied for grant money. In this case, private individuals want to invest their own money in a composer and the creation of a new work. I am grateful and eager to engage them in the process.
We meet several times in NYC to get to know each other. As we talk, two ideas emerge. First they are excited to be my companion as I create this work, and secondly, they are interested in my idea to create an alternate version of the work (or “telescoping”) to include student performers. We agree that I will write a string quartet for the Cassatt Quartet with the premiere in the spring.
As I begin work my new piece, the word “render” keeps coming up for me. I don’t know why. It is the process by which one melts fat or lard in order to separate out impurities. It is also means to be, become, or make; from Old French, render means “to give back, deliver.” And in artistic terms, it is to add color or shade an image.
I draw and think, not knowing how or why I need to write a string quartet with this word in mind.
“to cede, cough up, deliver, give up, lay down, relinquish, surrender, turn over, yield.” (Merriam Dictionary)
Of course – to yield, surrender! This life process of letting go of control, separating out impurities through heat and sometimes by force, then shading and adding color.
I write a large one movement piece for string quartet with two bookends – short pieces that include student performers in addition to the string quartet. The work can be performed with or without the bookends.
My music evolves over time rather than in big leaps. I always push at the edges of my content – not so much to create something new, but to nudge it to the next place – wherever that may be. So I am in love with the section where the uppers strings fall and slip down only to start over, while the cello swims up stream. I wake in the middle of the night to this section playing in my head.
I meet with Susan and Larry often over the next six months. We go to concerts or spend long hours over dinner. I arrange for the Cassatt Quartet perform Render for them and their friends before the concert. A casual affair in their large living room, we lounge, listen and talk late into the night about the new piece, music and the creative arts.
The premiere performance is at the Tenri Cultual Institute in NewYork City the following week. I now have a new piece, a great performance, and also two new dear friends in Susan and Larry – an unexpected blessing.
LISTEN:
