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The Location of Six Geometric Figures (2001)
The Location of Six Geometric Figures takes its title from a work by Sol LeWitt, in which areas are compulsively measured and subdivided in order to "locate" simple geometric forms like squares and triangles. The innocuous result is the product of a labyrinth of obsessively documented calculation; the trappings of order cannot disguise the ultimately irrational nature of the project. I was inspired by the way LeWitt works out simple schemes to an exhaustive end, and then lets the systems interfere with one another to produce complex results. My work combines several such mutually interfering grids. The durations and subdivisions of the six large sections of the piece, accelerated dramatically, were used to generate the rhythmic details of the work. An independently derived series of bar-lengths, with its own set of repetitions and variations, interrupts the flow of time. Instrumental combinations (a solo playing against two independent duos, a single trio) were permuted exhaustively, then re-ordered from "playing independently" to "playing together." Behind these overdetermined systems, the abyss is waiting. The Location of Six Geometric Figures was awarded both the First Prize and the Audience Prize in the 14th International Composition Competition for Chamber Music, sponsored by the Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker festival. Performances:
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