shadow of a difference / falling (2020)
for Oboe Alone (3 min.)
(Version Also Available for Soprano Saxophone)
shadow of a difference / falling is a series of moments based around the idea of the proverbial bird beating its wings against its newfound cage in trepidation. Each impulse provides insight into its fragile disposition, venturing from moments of cautious curiosity, through forlorn wails and futile exertions, to a melancholy resignation of its confinement. The work exposes the bird’s vulnerability by exploring blurred inflections of pitch, unsteady and ever-wavering sweeps across registers, and sharp juxtapositions between timid and rash gestures.
shadow of a difference / falling was written for Andrew Nogal and commissioned by the Dina Koston and Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music in the Library of Congress, as part of the Boccaccio Project: A Series of Music Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Andrew Nogal, oboe
June 16, 2020
The Boccaccio Project (livestream)
Christopher Agnew, soprano saxophone
February 16, 2022
Baltimore, MD