Beyond Ignorance was composed in the fall of 2016, and revised extensively in the summer of 2017. It’s difficult to articulate the mania of living in the United States at that time, and I suppose this piece is informed by the existential anxiety of confronting a political and social reality that is absurd beyond my wildest dreams.

 

The material is propelled by specific activity in either hand: the bow hand covers the entire range of the strings with a variety of pressures and motions (particularly circular bowing), and the left hand often applies light pressure to the strings with a variety of glissando techniques to extract a wide range of harmonics. Contact mics on the bridge and body of the instrument amplify the otherwise discreet sounds from the bow hairs, broadcasting the white noise and “imperfections” that occur.