Voces Tacitae, Op. 53b, No. 3 (2013)

Program Notes:

The premise of “Voces Tacitae” was to write a piece in a sort of “open” or non-standard rhythmic notation. Rather than using specific rhythmic values, I would have a few symbols to mean, say, long, medium, short, and very short duration. This presented an interesting challenge for me, as I would say at this point in my compositional career that rhythm is my favorite aspect of music. Nevertheless, I was determined to forge ahead. The thought of free rhythm brought my

mind to bird calls. But there are so many birds. How could I tie this together? Extinct birdcalls. Silent voices. “Voces Tacitae”. Thus was the piece conceived.

I began my research, and thanks to the magic of the internet, it is difficult but not impossible to find recordings of extinct birdcalls. They grouped nicely into three geographic areas: North America, Hawaii, and the tropics (broadly speaking): Perfect material for a three-movement suite.

I. The Open Lands

This movement was the only one that ended up getting written in open notation – and, as you can see, it has now been “converted” to regular notation. Despite writing “arhythmically”, a number of rhythmic motives still managed to pop up. Using an unfamiliar notation system in this situation seemed questionable at best. During performance, though, keep in mind that the rhythms and tempo can – and should - have a little play in them.

The movement begins with Copland-esque open sonorities and features the following North American birdcalls:

Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Slender-billed Curlew

Bachman’s Warbler

Dusky Seaside Sparrow

II. The Fire Islands

Featuring a steady, ukulele-like accompaniment throughout, this movement features the following Hawaiian birdcalls:

Ou

Poo-Uli

Kauai Oo

Kamao

Oahu Alauahio

Hawaiian Crow

III. The Tropic Paradise

By this point, the idea of featuring extinct birdcalls had far outstripped the idea of open rhythmic notation, as can be clearly seen by the extensive use of mixed meter in this movement. My high school band director taught us to read mixed meter by using “staple” and “triangle” to denote subunits of two and three respectively; this notation has been included for your mixed meter reading convenience. It features the following “tropical” birdcalls:

Huia (New Zealand)

Spix’s Macaw (Brazil)

Cozumel Thrasher (Mexico)

Atitlan Grebe (Guatemala)

IV. Requiem Aeterna

Despite my intentions stated earlier to write a three-movement suite, clearly this did not turn out to be the case. My instructor, Gilad, suggested I include a slower movement to better balance the suite as a whole. I didn’t mind the idea, but I had a problem: I had rather run out of extinct birdcalls to use as material. But what good would a movement without birdcalls be? – A requiem to the fallen. Making use of the “Dies Irae” theme, the requiem became a theme and variations on a chant from the Mass for the Dead - a fitting tribute. The ideas of Dies Irae and birdcall are joined in Variation VI – and the Ivory-billed woodpecker has the final say, calling from beyond the grave.