Sea-Change I

Program Note: The inspiration for Sea-change I was Ariel’s song from Shakespeare’s play The Tempest.  The piece is organized around one mysterious sonority that emphasizes the strange overtones of carillon bells. This sonority gathers up mass in the beginning aleatoric section, followed by a jubilant sea-song interrupted by tumultuous waves. This piece was composed in collaboration with Dr. Scott Allan Orr.

Full fathom five thy father lies;

Of his bones are coral made;

Those are pearls that were his eyes:

Nothing of him that doth fade,

But doth suffer a sea-change

Into something rich and strange.

Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:

                                             Ding-dong.

Hark! now I hear them,—ding-dong, bell.

Performances: Loughborough Carillon, 20 July 2024 by Dr. Scott Allan Orr.