Vignettes

Vignettes is scored for scordatura piano, requiring re-tuning four of its pitches to achieve a harmonic vocabulary that is analogous to the musical language that I primarily compose in: the extended maqamat, or Arab modes. The pitches are lowered a quarter tone to create microtonal-inflected scales, idiomatic of Arab instruments like the oud (lute), qanun (zither), and nay (flute). Through the mechanical manipulation of C3, D#4, A4, and F#5, I aim to evoke the nuanced gestures that find its origin from that part of the world.

All the scenes in this work depict many styles of Western-centric music which are explored through the lens of this aural manipulation, from Bach to Debussy to Cage, and several others in between. The question I posed to myself while writing this work: what would these composers do if they had access to this harmonic landscape? The result is my own personal reflection on these masterworks for the piano that we all love.