Commissioned by Robert Falvo and Alicia Chapman
Transience for oboe and percussion, written in 1994, was commissioned by A Due, the oboe/percussion ensemble of Robert Falvo and Alicia Chapman.
Most of it is angry, loud, disjunct, and dissonant, evoking the anger that resulting from our awareness of the fact that sooner or later we will face the loss of everything around us. But the simple acceptance that this fact can help find us find peacefulness within this world of change, as everything comes into being and fades in the ebb and flow of existence. The Buddha glimpsed this peace when he saw a start at dawn. Despite everything, it is possible for us, too.
This piece evokes both possibilities by using the antipodes of atonality and tonality. Most of the piece features an angular dialogue between oboe and nonpitched percussion (cymbals, tom-toms, temple blocks, snare drums). Glimpses of tranquility appear in “Adagio” sections for oboe and pitched percussion (vibraphone, marimba). These are harbingers of the final extended segment, which uses oboe and pitched percussion to create an otherworldly sense of repose.