Six Elegies Dancing (1987) by Jennifer Stasack
Players: 1
Instrumentation: Marimba and kick drum
Duration: 10 minutes
Program Note:
Jennifer Stasack began studies in composition and ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaii, continuing on to complete a DMA in Composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 1991. She combines her creative and ethnomusicological interests by drawing on aesthetics and formal designs indigenous to non-Western musical systems in her compositions. Her studies of Asian music include summer residencies at the Akademi Seni Karawitan in Surakarta, Java (1989) and the Korean Traditional Performing Arts Center in Seoul (1993 and 1994). – Jennifer Stasack.
Six Elegies Dancing was written in 1987 for percussionist Michael Erickson while Ms. Stasack was completing her doctoral studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. The entire composition consists of six movements, whose titles indicate the manner in which each should be played. Notable is the fifth movement, “With Deliberate Concentration,” which reflects Ms. Stasack’s eastern influences. Inspired by the graceful motion of Tai Chi, calculated movements create the music as opposed to the traditional focus on actual pitched material. – Adapted from Frank Kumor