Gristmill
brass quintet
(2017)

Duration: 7 minutes, 30 seconds

Premiered September 2017
Red Star Brass
San Francisco CA

Composer’s Note

In speaking with Red Star Brass while planning this commission project, we talked about ideas of space and of groove. These elements seem, at the surface, relatively disparate, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that space or place often invite the natural existence of groove. A past teacher of mine (and of RSB Tuba player, Chris Smith) says that groove is what allows one to embody the future. It helps us understand and anticipate what might be coming next in such a way that our body can go along for the ride of what we hear, see, observe, feel, etc. Musically, we experience groove when we tap our feet, sway, or nod our head.

As a composer, my inspiration often comes from the place I am writing, or the space in which the work will be performed. Gristmill was completed while attending a residency at the Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap, GA. In addition to hosting fellows who specialize in a variety of arts (and some sciences) in creative residency, Hambidge runs Barker’s Creek Mill, one of the few remaining active gristmills in the nation. A gristmill relies on the muscle of water to turn a wheel to power a mechanism to create enough pressure and force to grind grain. The machine is powered by a combination of momentum and pure grit. It relies on the smooth function of a number of individual pieces in order to work as a unit, any of which can be held up by lack of water, stray objects in the path of flow, rough surfaces, and many other variables small and large, all with the ability to halt the system.

Gristmill plays on the relentless work put into achieving a smooth line of production. Listeners can tap their toes on the “big beat” or macro pulse (most often heard in groups of three: think of a wheel turn or a waltz), but the groove/cycle is constantly and inconsistently interrupted by groups of two inserted into the lines. It is a quest for consistency, for toe-tapping regularity, for groove.

Many thanks to the Red Star Brass for their support of new music and crazy ideas, and to the Hambidge Center’s Creative Residency Program for providing the time, space, and solitude to compose.