Instrumentation: Cello
Composed: 1998
Commissioned by Ruth Cansfield Dance with support from The Canada Council. Written for Shauna Rolston and Davida Monk (dancer)
Premiere: New Works Calgary
Program Note:
Dance for Cello and Mask (Twitch and Bow) was written on commission for Winnipeg Choreographer Ruth Cansfield, for a project that included dancer Davida Monk and cellist Shauna Rolston. It was created interactively. Ruth and Davida videotaped their studio work for me—a dozen snippets of dance gestures. I then wrote the piece with the video influencing my musical vocabulary. Ruth and Davida then returned to the studio to complete their work, premiering it on a New Works Calgary concert. Musically, I was inspired by the bow arm technique of the cello as a point of departure to match Ruth’s movement vocabulary that alternates “twitchy” explosions with frozen adagio sections.
The title of the piece for concert programs should change depending on whether the dance is included, so Dance for Cello and Mask, “Twitch and Bow” or simply Twitch and Bow.
Carrabre 