descripção
The Axe Has Flowered for solo viola was written after two months of being unable to compose. Coming back to writing after some rather severe personal struggles, I decided that I needed to do do some deconstruction and exploration. I began to think about the interaction between performer and composer, as well as different elements that go into the construction of sung music. Over the course of the work, fragmented elements of song are presented in incredibly specific ways, including controlling the exact rhythmization of vibrato. The notation becomes progressively less specific as the piece goes on. The piece works to coalesce the song element fragments, eventually ending with the viola playing straight art song.
This work has been the beginning of an extremely productive year for me, which makes the title feel retroactively, and thankfully, prophetic. The title is taken from a poem by Paul Celan.
The work was premiered by Garth Knox in Auvillar, France during July of 2014.