Where Even Shadows Are Light

The idea for Where Even Shadows are Light came to me as I was attending a percussion writing workshop and I had the opportunity to strike a cymbal and a tam-tam. As I drew my ear closer to the vibrating instrument I could hear (and most importantly feel) the alignment of overtones shooting up from the fundamental. At this point in my composition career, I felt the need to escape the more codified system I had created for myself, and I wanted to “get lost in sound.” I wanted to think about music as a metaphysical entity, something floating, something living in the liminal space. This piece is my first attempt at conveying weightlessness, at letting texture behave more freely and create contrast organically by playing around with rhythmic buoyancy, phrases, tension, and release. Form became a result of proportions rather than a rigid shell that enclosed all the music. I thought about relationships between instrument hierarchies. I thought about how gestures, big or small, can be noticed internally (not a specific emotion but just a movement that brought me from one place to another). This work draws inspiration from pieces that evoked those sentiments in me such as Berg's violin concerto, Messiaen’s Éclairs sur l’au-delà, Mozart's wind Serenade K.331, and Franck’s Martin Mass for Double Choir, to name a few.

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Educational module

Using birdsong and ocean waves as inspiration, students learn to identify and explore the sounds and textures of nature in Alyssa Regent’s piece. Students learn more about Alyssa Regent’s native Guadeloupe, and then apply their own experiences with nature to create improvisational nature scenes through music.

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From the composer: Matching visuals to sonic elements helps with the embodiment of the emotional potency of the work and helps with the development of each player’s individual musicianship. Students will learn to use ‘extended’ techniques to create sounds that initially seem unmusical and associate images/feelings with them to create a musical work. This module requires imagination and collaboration, as the listening component of learning any piece of music that is played in a group is as important as the creative individuality needed from each player.

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Where Even Shadows are Light is published by American Composers Orchestra via EarShot: Advancing Equity through Publishing & Repertoire Development, made possible through support from the Sphinx Organization.