Veil/Flame (2024)

For Solo Cello
Duration: 12 minutes
Composed for Eric Moore
First performed by Eric Moore, October 22, 2024

Veil/Flame for solo cello is a dialogue between introspection and intensity. A long opening section, made of fragments of searching, lyrical material, eventually gives way to more energetic, determined, and virtuosic writing for the instrument. As the piece progresses, the two moods continue to alternate and intermingle, eventually reaching an intense climax before dissipating in a wisp of smoke.

Veil/Flame is something of a love letter for the cello: I played the instrument myself when I was younger, and although I never progressed very far, its sound is deeply in my ears and will always feel special to me. I wrote the piece with the cello’s wonderfully vast range and expressive potential in mind. I also use an altered tuning – lowering the open C string to a B-flat – that deepens the instrument’s resonance and opens up a special set of harmonic possibilities that I have explored in several of my works. Veil/Flame is dedicated to cellist Eric Moore.