Junebugs

Listen to the work here!
 
Junebugs is a six movement suite for solo xylophone. These short miniatures, which each range from just under a minute to approximately a minute and a half in duration, were created via improvisation at the instrument, and these improvisations were later transcribed and given imaginative titles based on the characteristics of each movement. The movements, and their expressive indications, are:
I. Retroreflectors on the Moon – “Bouncing like lightbeams”
II. Spikes in the Road – “Slightly abrasive”
III. Orange Peeling – “Sweetly”
IV. Upon Alabaster – “Cold, metallic”
V. Short of Breath – “With palpitations”
VI. The Embers of Dying Stars – “Sparkling, dancing”
These transcribed improvisations carry several compositional and motivic throughlines, which reveal the tendencies and inclinations of my own physicality when I approach playing and writing for keyboard percussion instruments. The etudes all present basic motivic units, which are quickly developed by a series of sudden digressions, which expand on the original idea and can sometimes take over the piece, as a stream of thought might subsume another. In addition, the harmonic flavor of the collection presents an interesting gray area between traditional tonality, 20th century harmonic experiments, the figurations and motions of popular music, and more. The rhythms are kinetic in nature, with a strong pull towards how those rhythms feel to play in the arms and hands. Finally, the title refers to these etudes’ composition in June of 2024, and the “bug-like” nature of each movement’s simplicity, and the xylophone’s unique timbre.