Scattered Colors

Program Note

At its surface, Scattered Colors is a work in which the soundscape is ever changing, and mutational. Coloristic and timbral changes that can be seen at the surface of the work act as a loosely dissociated strand, embellishing a central compositional figure that grows somewhat independently. This compositional figure operates at various levels as well; as a throughline for direction in the piece, or locally as a more florid figuration as the work progresses over time. The initial opening focuses on timbral and rhythmic embellishments found within a relatively stationary space; all the while the kineticism of these coloristic changes work to move away from their confines, growing and eventually weaving in tandem.

The title for this work is derived from how light waves propagate and interact with surfaces in either a specular or diffuse manner. The latter scatters light multi-directionally in a somewhat chaotic fashion, and is in turn an analogous description of how the use of color is often approached in this work.