Notes from the CD: Mobile 2012

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This work, though for guitar alone, could easily be interpreted as a duo. The composer, in an advanced foray into the realm of alternative tunings, has made the guitar a diploid instrument, its lower half in equal temperament and its upper half down a quarter-tone. The title gives a clue to the construction of the piece, although an enigmatic one: The composer has given his seven distinct gestures the seven letters of the title. These ideas of harmony and timbre interact with the rigidity of a passacaglia theme, forming what Gifford terms a chaconne-mobile. As the piece progresses, the order of the individual strands of the theme constantly shifts and the two halves of the guitar struggle to abide by the harmonies that the chaconne mandates.

-Dan Alberston