Macklay: Trrhythms

Description

Trrhythms was commissioned by the I&I Foundation for violinist Ilya Gringolts in 2021. Trrhythms = transformation + rhythms. "Tr" also brings to mind words such as trill, tremolo, traverse, and the trembling pattern of acoustic beating, which are all salient ideas in the piece. Trrhythms is built of five sections. Each section uses a different short, rhythmic phrase over and over, while other musical elements such as pitches, dynamics, and timbres go through a transformational process. The transitions between each section foreshadow the next section's rhythm. in my music in general and especially in this piece, I want to create materials that are memorable and striking, yet constantly evolving in ways that invite the listener to predict the materials' trajectory.