Program Notes

Côte à côte is a French phrase meaning “shoulder to shoulder” or “side by side”. Within this work, I wanted to focus on using range and register to distinguish form. The various sections of the piece often involve a small range of the piano, usually around two to three octaves. Because of this, the performers spend much of the piece shoulder to shoulder, working within the same register. They operate as a singular entity, moving through the range of the piano as one.  It is only at major moments in the piece that they split. The piece also forms a dialogue with ideas of echo and delay. Many of the motifs are echoed voice to voice, either exactly or slightly altered. The “swung” nonuplet motif also emulates an artificial delay, such as one provided through electronic processing or a guitar pedal. The work exists in a space of resonance, emphasizing the subtle nuances created through the dynamics, echoes, and polyrhythms.