F-111

ENS.2008.12 | 19′
Marimba, Piano, Cello

Score

1. Movement One

1. Movement One

1. Movement One


In F-111 two short dances bookend a large central panel, a form resembling an altarpiece. Three movements follow the same symmetrical form (with the outer movements broken in half); the shorter opening and closing are fragmented, while the large middle movement is more narrative.

I chose the title for three reasons. An F-111 is a warplane, and for some reason the combination of marimba, piano and cello sounds fast, sleek and high-tech to me. F-111 is also the name of an enormous, brightly colored painting by Pop artist James Rosenquist that can sometimes be seen in an entire room at the Museum of Modern Art.

On a more personal note, when I was young I sometimes built model airplanes, and one day I purchased a model F-111. However, when it was finished I realized it was sort of an ugly airplane, did not particularly resemble the picture on the box, and had been frankly boring to build. The last model I assembled, it was in retrospect one of those little things that mark a dividing line in childhood.

Accordingly, I have named this piece F-111 because it is colorful, highly organized, made of small detachable parts, changes quickly, and because it is dangerous, having been written at a time when my life was under attack.