Non Sequitur Music Publishing: Chaoborus

Chaoborus

Play the first minute of Chaoborus.
This recording is from a live recording by Linda Lampkin, flute; Elizabeth Nelson, oboe; Trina Gross, clarinet; Takehiro Sasaki, bassoon; Eric McIntyre, horn; David Mekled, trumpet; Carolee Brakewood, trombone; Chris Richards, percussion; Muhiddin Durruoglu-Demirez, piano; Jeff Howard, Michael Milton, violins; Gardner McDaniel, viola; Stefan Freund, cello; Ryun Schienbein, bass; Tim Hankewich, conductor.

Composer: David Heuser
Instrumentation:
flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano, 2 violin, viola, cello, double bass
Year Composed: 1993
Duration: 8 minutes
Pages (score): 31
Cost:

Rental: $50.00
Purchase: $100.00

Representative Performances:

The EvorEnsemble Contemporâneo, Évora, Portugal (January 2006)
University of Louisville Contemporary Player, Frederick Speck, cond., University of Louisville, Louisville, KY (April 1995)
Tim Hankewich, cond., Indiana Univeristy, Bloomington, IN (October 1993)

Percussion Required:
Bass Drum, Bell Plate, Vibraphone, Crotales (pitches: E, F, A), Chimes (i.e. Tubular Bells; pitches: Db, E)

Program Notes:

Chaoborus (pronounced Ka-OB-or-us) was written from October 1992 to the beginning of 1993. It is scored for four woodwinds, three brasswinds, five strings, percussion and piano. It is approximately eight-and-a-half minutes long. The Chaoborus is a phantom midge, found in the profundal zone of lakes. According to Wetzel (Limnology, 2nd ed., Saunders, 1983, p. 663):

the larvae can develop to the fourth instar in six to eight weeks.

The first and second instars are the larvae can develop to the

fourth instar in six to eight weeks. The first and second instars

are always limnetic and positively phototactic, and they develop

rapidly in a few weeks. The third instar, mostly limnetic but also

occurring in the sediments, is of much longer duration. After a

variable period of up to several months, ecdysis to the fourth

instar occurs; this instar is limnetic much of the time. The fourth

instar of many species of Chaoborus undergoes strong diurnal

vertical migrations.

It is this last trait which attracted me to the Chaoborus as a possible title.

The piece is in one movement, the tempo the same throughout. Formally Chaoborus breaks down into four parts with an introduction and a coda. In the introduction the basic conflicts between chords and melody, and between "whole- tone"-like material and more chromatic material are presented. The first main section is anchored by a nearly continuous rocking minor third, over which there are several melodies. Interrupting the anchor and the melodies are the loud chords first heard in the introduction. In the second section the loud chords take over, shifting and changing abruptly until, just as suddenly, they end. The third section of the piece has slower rhythmic motion, and it is more nebulous and fractured in nature. In the last section all of the previous elements of the piece are heard against each other, piled up like building blocks: the elements are not affected by the music around them, and their arrangement is somewhat orderly, somewhat haphazard. The piece ends with an almost backwards recapitulation of the opening.

Non Sequitur Music Publishing
2112 Ontario Street
Bellingham, WA 98229
USA
(360) 733-7145
Email: nsm@nonsequiturmusic.com