Year: 1993 Duration: 13' 10"
“… if nothing passes away, there is no past time, and if nothing arrives, there is no future time, and if nothing existed there would be no present time. Take the two tenses, past and future. How can they ‘be’ when the past is not now present and the future is not yet present? Yet if the present were always present, it would not pass into the past: it would not be time but eternity.” (St. Augustine, Confessions)
Beyond the bridge is a composition constructed upon a system of multi-dimensional form: the large triadic structure appears in superimposed combinations of the three main sections played on three different spaces. The central motif consists of the note D unfolded by the partials of its harmonics series. The cello symbolises a journey that begins at a very distant place, gradually getting closer to an imaginary space, and finally returning to its initial place.
Additional Info:
‘Beyond the bridge’ was written in 1993 for Zoe Martlew and was awarded second prize at the 1994 Bourges International Electroacoustic Competition, France. It was also selected by SEAMUS (the American Society of Electroacoustic Music) in 1996. The world premiere took place at the Wartegg Schlössli in Lucerne, Switzerland, on 22nd January 1994. The performers were Zoe Martlew (cello) and John Palmer (electronics).
Instrumentation:
Electronics, Violoncello