Jason Francesco Heath
Composition/Interactive Media
Composition/Interactive Media
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Program Notes
Meditations on the Bardo Realms
six short pieces for viola duo
The true power of myth lies in its ability to illuminate abstractions of our human experience otherwise elusive to our more literal sensibilities. Myths are the containers, carriers, and deliverers of a collective human wisdom. And it is through myth as it is through music, that humankind transcends the limitations of the literal, bringing a more acute awareness of the myriad visions through which we may see ourselves and understand our humanity.
In Tibetan mythology, the Bardos are the intermediate or transitory states through which our human consciousness is in constant fluctuation. They can be understood as realms of existence in a cosmological sense, or as temporary and characteristic fluctuations of our individual and particular states of consciousness. Though the Six Bardos can be applied to an individual psyche, their implications are also descriptive of a collective and innate human mind, with predictable patterns and fathomable attributes.
These six realms of existence describe archetypal states of being, equally impermanent as they are illusory; equally global as they are personal.
Increasing our awareness of these attributes of our mind, we free ourselves from their limitations; and our real nature, uncolored by the Bardos, emerges from the in-between.
six short pieces for viola duo
In Tibetan mythology, the Bardos are the intermediate or transitory states through which our human consciousness is in constant fluctuation. They can be understood as realms of existence in a cosmological sense, or as temporary and characteristic fluctuations of our individual and particular states of consciousness. Though the Six Bardos can be applied to an individual psyche, their implications are also descriptive of a collective and innate human mind, with predictable patterns and fathomable attributes.
These six realms of existence describe archetypal states of being, equally impermanent as they are illusory; equally global as they are personal.
Increasing our awareness of these attributes of our mind, we free ourselves from their limitations; and our real nature, uncolored by the Bardos, emerges from the in-between.
Tlaloc
for
Viola, Bass Clarinet, and Piano
Tlaloc is god of the rain within ancient Mesoamerican mythology. His name comes from “tlalli” and “octli” meaning ‘earth’ and ‘wine’. He embodies the process of water coming together with earth, inciting and empowering fertility, nourishment, and destruction. He is god of lightening, thunder, and all storms, floods, or draughts. Tlaloc is at once the creator, the sustainer, and the destroyer.
This piece explores these archetypes by having them play themselves out in a world of sound. The rich, visceral timbre of the bass clarinet provides the sonic template for the elaboration of these natural forces. We hear an immense creative power implicit in the sustained resonance of the instrument’s lower register. The piece elaborates shades of color as they relate to this original resonance. And as the relationships of color, motion, and density shift in time, their many qualities are revealed. The piano provides clarity and exactitude, while also offering a powerful and densely diffuse lower register. The viola brings out timeless and elusive elements, sustaining the piece's richness in color.
for
Viola, Bass Clarinet, and Piano
Tlaloc is god of the rain within ancient Mesoamerican mythology. His name comes from “tlalli” and “octli” meaning ‘earth’ and ‘wine’. He embodies the process of water coming together with earth, inciting and empowering fertility, nourishment, and destruction. He is god of lightening, thunder, and all storms, floods, or draughts. Tlaloc is at once the creator, the sustainer, and the destroyer.
This piece explores these archetypes by having them play themselves out in a world of sound. The rich, visceral timbre of the bass clarinet provides the sonic template for the elaboration of these natural forces. We hear an immense creative power implicit in the sustained resonance of the instrument’s lower register. The piece elaborates shades of color as they relate to this original resonance. And as the relationships of color, motion, and density shift in time, their many qualities are revealed. The piano provides clarity and exactitude, while also offering a powerful and densely diffuse lower register. The viola brings out timeless and elusive elements, sustaining the piece's richness in color.
Wheel of Life
