Between Breath

Between Breath was commissioned by William Lang and Anne Rainwater. Published edition will be available in 2024.

The initial sketching and workshopping of “Between Breath” began in early 2021. Later that summer, I joined pianist Anne Rainwater and trombonist William Lang for a residency at Avaloch Farm. It was there that we finalized the piece and premiered it in New Orleans the following year. The opening trombone sound is the musical version of the scream I felt inside my head at that time. The music moves through a series of transformations before reaching the final section, which I came to think of as the musical equivalent of “the outside.” Throughout the work the trombone uses a special kind of overpressure invented by Will. We ended up calling this “Dirty Split Tone.” The Dirty Split Tone, combined with a very fast doubling tonguing, produces a harmonic sweeping effect that scans through different spectral density bands. The piano imitates the trombone’s effect by using an assortment of piano preparations which help highlight certain harmonics (primarily the 7th and 11th partials).