Trace (2013)
For solo piano (and solo dancer)
Choreography by Hee Ra Yoo
Duration: 7 minutes
Commissioned by Yoo and Dancers; later introduced into Periapsis Music and Dance’s repertoire
World premiere: May 16 and 20, 2013
The Secret Theatre and the Actors Fund Arts Center, New York
Jonathan Howard Katz, piano; Leigh Schanfein, dancer
This work is available for retail purchase from Theodore Front Musical Literature.
This work is available for institutional purchase from Harrassowitz (OttoEditions) and Theodore Front Musical Literature.
Program note: Choreographer Hee Ra Yoo and I had been talking about working together on a new piece when I saw a work-in-progress of hers in March 2013. The performance used temp music, so we decided I’d write the “official” score, and I set to work by watching the video with the sound muted—this was probably the first time my process with a choreographer involved substantial composition to pre-existing movement. The piece follows a character arc Hee Ra designed, of a doll or robot coming to life with great effort, finding her own freedom and humanity before falling back into her original state. The music features quick, fleeting gestures to start, before finding more luxurious colors and melodies. A frantic waltz shows the character at her greatest distance from her starting point.