cell (noun): a small room in which a prisoner is locked up or in which a monk or nun sleeps

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cell (noun): the smallest structural and functional unit of an organism, typically microscopic

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I wrote this piece shortly after completing Titration for two piano, two percussion. Said piece explores a sound world of just three notes (G#, A, A#), and I spent many hours at the piano improvising on just these three notes during the composition process. Even after the piece was finished, I continued doing so. My improvisations from day to day became almost identical; it was as if I was waiting for something, anything, to happen each time I returned to the material. This piece, Cell, is a return to this pitch material originally intended for Titration. I often consider my pieces to be characters exploring a terrain of sounds; this piece is a new character exploring the space previously occupied by Titration. The materials are tentatively picked up, turned over, and reconstituted in new ways; their original purpose is lost to wistful memory of a time long past.