Downstream

for two pianos

Op. 40

[0:52]

COMPOSITION
This work traces the river path of my elder daughter's funerary ashes from Fairy Falls, Minnesota,
to the Gulf of Mexico. Its main elements, two simultaneous perpetual-motion lines, are mapped
from separate north-to-south and west-to-east readings of the river flow progression. Punctuating
these are irregular dual-voiced motifs, timed/articulated to match the entry points of passing
Mississippi tributaries and scored for the players alternately according to left-or-right entry flow
direction. Scoring has proceeded in LilyPond, with secondary MIDI output then further developed
in extensive composer-edits via Rosegarden and ultimately realized via Pianoteq's "D4 Vintage"
instrument.

PERFORMANCE
Accidentals  This notation style is c/o LilyPond's "forget". Every accidental applies exactly once;
consequently, all unmarked noteheads are naturals.
Articulation  A slur's final note must be audibly detached from what follows. Bracketed names
are models for their note-motif performance, not texts to be sounded in themselves.
Fingering  For the repeated-note sequences of Piano I, a tremolo style (4-3-2-1, etc.) is advised.

ONLINE ACCESS
Sources, including a video (of page-turned score synced with audio), are available as follows:

                                                            score,  audio,  video