Unfolding River is a series of 81 compositions drawing inspiration and structure from the Tao te Ching.
Process:
Assign a melodic or harmonic fragment to each of the 802 ancient Chinese characters. Establish an ‘orchestration sequence’ to govern the instrumentation.
Arrange the musical fragments in the order in which the characters appear in the text.
Orchestrate the fragments into a composition, adding new material to produce a cohesive whole. Each piece corresponds to one verse, of which there are 81 in total.
Edit using notation software. Refine the layout and prepare the parts to be recorded and performed.
Perform the music with creative, inspired musicians:
February, 2009
Ajineen Sagal – violin
Johann Lotter – viola
Lina Allemano – trumpet
Peter Lutek – baritone sax
Monica Fedrigo – cello
Terry Quinney – clarinet
Tom Richards – trombone, composition
October, 2009
Aline Homzy – violin
Anna Atkinson – viola
Ernesto Cervini – clarinet
John Kay – clarinet
Monica Fedrigo – cello
Nick Buligan – trumpet
Peter Lutek – baritone sax, bassoon, clarinet, contralto clarinet, recording
Scott Peterson – bass
Tom Richards – trombone, composition
May, 2010
Aline Homzy – violin
Andrew Kay – clarinet
Anna Atkinson – viola
Ernesto Cervini – clarinet
Michael Herring – bass
Monica Fedrigo – cello
Nick Buligan – trumpet
Peter Lutek – baritone sax, bassoon, clarinet, contralto clarinet, recording
Tom Richards – trombone, composition
March, 2011
Aline Homzy – violin
Anna Atkinson – viola
Dan Fortin – bass (verse 41)
Ernesto Cervini – clarinet
Monica Fedrigo – cello
Nick Buligan – trumpet
Peter Lutek – clarinet, contralto clarinet, recording
Scott Peterson – bass, vocals, real-time electronics (verse 41)
Tom Richards – trombone, composition