i can hear you

i can hear you is inspired by Hone Tuwhare’s poem titled Rain. This work is the third iteration of works for chamber ensembles inspired by Rain, this time using a recording I made of myself reciting the text as the generative material for the composition. The pitches and rhythms of the transcribed recited poem became the basis of this work; repetitive phrases can be heard weaving between parts in a conversational manner. The work focuses not on the semantic content of the poem (as my other works have) and is instead interested in the friction of familiarity and foreignness created by transplanting evolving dialogue and conversational tropes to stringed instruments.

This work was written for the Jade String Quartet as part of my APO Rising Star residency, 2021.

Hone Tuwhare’s poem Rain:

I can hear you

making small holesin the silence

rain

If I were deaf

the pores of my skin

would open to you

and shut

And I

should know you

by the lick of you

if I were blind

the something

special smell of you

when the sun cakes

the ground

the steady

drum-roll sound

you make

when the wind drops

But if I

should not hear

smell or feel or see

you

you would still

define me

disperse me

wash over me

rain