Mesovortex

Mesovortex is inspired by, and structured loosely around time lapse footage of tornadogenesis. When sped up, one can clearly see the ordinary cloud formations caught in an inexorable, yet invisible pull towards themselves–one that is less obvious in real time. This process feels analogous to the unraveling of human emotions: normal events, aligned properly, can grind against one-another, creating anger or fear out of virtually nothing. The piece takes advantage of the saxophone quartet’s capacity to melt into itself–to form more of a mercurial, polyphonic plasma than four distinct voices.

The primary textural goal, throughout this piece, is to create a frenetic, micropolyphonic soup. With a few exceptions, (soli, sudden changes, lines should feel as though they emerge from the overarching texture.

Mesovortex was written for PRISM quartet, in a joint commission by the quartet and the Walden School (Dublin NH.) It was premiered on November 17th, 2024 in Philadelphia, and performed again and recorded in New York the following day.