Shimmer

“Shimmer” for Piano Quintet

My piece titled “Shimmer” reflects my effort to combine the harmonic and melodic styles of early 20th-century music with those of traditional tonality to produce a novel and intriguing result.

Drawing upon the coloristic qualities of the whole-tone scale and quartal harmony and imbuing these with tonality’s inherent sense of destination, the piece seeks to maintain a sense of forward movement while being as vibrant as possible. By featuring a certain ostinato and developing it throughout, the music fluctuates between these different styles and occasionally mixes them all at once.

In fact, in one section of the piece, the instruments pass around melodies in the Lydian and Dorian modes, two scales closely connected to those in tonality as well as the whole tone scale. I sought to highlight the versatility of these distinct styles by creating large contrasts in the tone, energy, and volume throughout the work.

From quiet, pure strings to energetic climaxes with aggressive piano attacks and fast rhythms, the piece explores the expressive potential of quartal harmony and the whole tone scale. The result is something distinct, fresh, and particularly shimmery.