Instrumentation
solo bass or alto flute
Duration
6 minutes
Program Note
Sublimation, as a term, has two meanings. In chemistry, it refers to the process of a solid moving directly to the gaseous state; in psychoanalysis, it refers to the process by which unacceptable desires or impulses are channeled into societally accepted modes of expression, like visual art or music. Initially I wanted to write a piece just exploring the former definition, but quickly I realized that I would have to address the latter as well.
The entire piece is essentially born out of its first gesture: a stuttering, trill-like figure on the instrument’s three lowest chromatic notes. This material is developed almost obsessively, twisting around itself until it has nowhere left to go, whereupon it can only be transformed into something else—we briefly catch sight of another world, though only fleetingly before returning to the murkiness of the outset.
This process of twisting and transforming is repeated twice more, though where in the first iteration the material only ascended, in the second it only descends and in the third is paralyzed, only able to mockingly pick at gestures heard previously. In between, the other world that is occasionally sighted grows more clearly defined, and reveals itself fully as a sinuous melody. This too, however, eventually collapses after exhausting itself in the instrument’s top register. Having failed in the psychoanalytic definition of “sublimation”, the only choice left is escape, which is undertaken through a virtuoso coda which eventually (perhaps even mercifully) is able to spiral up and out of existence—what was previously solid sublimates into the ether.
and would I sublimate, though intended for performance on bass flute, can be played also on alto flute if a bass is unavailable. The piece lasts between six and seven minutes in duration.
Selected Performances
Sydney Weiler, alto flute
March 19, 2025 (World Premiere)
The New School – Mannes School of Music (New York, NY)
Tristan Wilson 