Furthermore

I wrote “Furthermore” in late fall of 2009, during a period of intense work and concentration; the piece took about two weeks to complete. It is a deep expression of my love for rich orchestral sonorities and textures in evolving characters and shapes. The opening three-note motive begins as the main driving force of the piece: the source of harmonic material as well as motivic/melodic material, undergoing various transformations and extensions. About three minutes in, a long-breathed melodic phrase appears in the celli, basses, and low brass. This melody forms a kind of contrasting character to the three-note motive, and this contrast initiates a struggle between shorter more vertical sonorities and longer more horizontal phrases. Towards the end of the piece, the struggle culminates in an eruption in the orchestra, which results in the appearance of a high and weightless-feeling pedal point expressed in a coruscating texture in the harp, celesta, and piano. This sparkling texture is jabbed by chords in the rest of the orchestra. Finally a progression of chords evolves from these jabs—a progression that is harmonically derived from both the opening motive and from the contrasting long melodic phrase, and becomes the conclusion of the piece: a kind of pouring out of the piece’s essence.