Burr (2021) 5'
Concerto for horn and chamber orchestra (1, 1, 1, 1 - 0, 1, 1, 0 - 1 perc, pf, e-gtr, str).
Recorded (multitracked) on 4/23/21 by Cameron West and Contemporaneous. Self-published (Morningside Press, ASCAP).
Burr, written for Cameron West and Contemporaneous, pays homage to Cameron’s new role in my life as a personal coffee guru. Cameron guided me to a beautiful burr grinder that I’ve used to home brew coffee during the COVID-19 pandemic. This piece captures some of the manic, caffeined energy of a few too many great cups of coffee, especially at its outset. I like the title “burr” for its secondary meaning, too: the idea of a prickly husk on a plant. This music has a brash swagger — a tough, spiky exterior — but it also, perhaps more gradually, reflects an underlying vulnerability. I think of this music as a fun, extroverted romp that subtly points towards the more intimate, dark, complex emotional landscape of a year spent in isolation.
Listen:
A burr on a Sparganium plant