On the Clarification of Slurs, Op. 84 (2017)

Program Notes:

This piece was composed for the Center for Advanced Notation's Composition Competition in fall 2017. The rules stipulated, among other parameters, that compositions must fit entirely on one page of score, that compositions must be written for at least one instrument, but no fewer than two, and that scores must be submitted in concert pitch (otherwise, how could anyone read them?). The dual nature of slurs as articulation and phrase mark has always bothered me, so I figured this would be a prime opportunity to correct this abuse of notation.