Measured to Fit (2021)

Measured to Fit, for Omega Ensemble, was commissioned in a curious way, in which individual donors contributed to the piece measure-by-measure; never having worked this way before, I decided to lean into the specificity of that structure and design a piece in very clear sections, each built around one single chord. These sections are announced by large vertical unisons between the first violin and the piano, each lasts between 20 and 30 seconds, and they alternate between moments of maximum rhythmic complexity and very simple unisons. The result is a kinetic and slightly anxious piece, with sudden changes of tack and seemingly spontaneous shifts from chaos to order. The final sections represent both techniques, with a relentless quaver pulse in the piano offset by seemingly ungridded gestures, insect-like, from the rest of the ensemble.