cocoon (noun): a silky case spun by the larvae of many insects for protection in the pupal stage

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cocoon (verb): to envelop or surround in a protective or comforting way

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layer (noun): a sheet, quantity, of thickness of material, typically one of several, covering a surface or body

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layer: (verb): to arrange in a layer or layers

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crust (noun): the tougher outer part of something

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encrust: (verb): to cover something with a hard surface layer

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fold (verb): to bend (something flexible and relatively flat) over on itself so that one part of it covers another

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fold: (verb): to cover or wrap something in (a soft or flexible material)

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This piece marks the first in which I ask one single performer to play multiple layers of stratified tempi simultaneously. In previous polytempic pieces of mine (such as Miasma, in-side, [internal resistance to flow is named viscosity], and Percussion Trio), each performer is distributed one layer of tempo, with the resultant soundscape arising out of the interaction of these layers sliding past one-another across the ensemble.

In this piece, enfoldings (2019-20) for solo flugelhorn, the performer is asked to play up to five layers of tempi simultaneously. It struck me that in order to create and maintain a sense of control and coherence in approaching a project such as this for the first time, a core text (or cantus firmus of sorts) might be a useful starting point. This piece is, in many ways, a setting of Hildegard von Bingen’s “O virtus Sapientiae” (see left). This text seemed fitting to the piece as it addresses the themes of circulation and distillation of knowledge; the creation of an emergent coherence across multiple levels of disruptive activity. In the first section of the piece, the phrases of the chant are wrapped around one-another into a “cocoon” comprised of five “emergent phrases”. The second section is a ‘pulverised’, percussive reimagining of the first movement; it is rendered a translucent spectre of its former self.