At the Crossing of Five Paths consists of five connected short pieces for flute which have been fragmented and rearranged, connected by processed flute sounds. The rearrangement of these elements produces a non-linear temporal experience. All of the elements of a progression remain, but their reordering forces the listener to reconstruct the original linear progression of the pieces after the sound has stopped.
At the Crossing of Five Paths represents a journey from complexity to simplicity. As the original pieces (in their original order) move from low to high, dissonant to consonant, and rapid to slow, the listener is left with a high, mysterious melody that recedes into the distance. The confusion caused by the fragmentation of these different pieces falls away as a decision is made and a path is chosen.
This piece was finished in 2008 and written for Wayla Chambo.
Performance History
Mid-Atlantic Flute Fair, Reston, VA, 2/21/2010
Technosonics X—Building, 2009 Virginia Center for Computer Music tour:
Muse Workspace, Richmond, VA, 11/14/2009
Live Arts, Charlottesville, VA, 11/13/2009
Pixilerations [v.5],
University of Rhode Island Shepard Building Auditorium, Providence, RI, 10/11/2008
