Difficult Bamboo

Music with a pronounced stylistic evolution fascinates me, and the search for imaginative conceits that can accommodate this dynamic stylistic approach has led to some unusual forms. Difficult Bamboo’s transformation from eerie minimalism to frenetic maximalism is based on a the premise of an aggressive species of running bamboo invading a bucolic landscape.

The pentatonic-tinged harmonies that open the piece, articulated by fluttertonging and tremolo sonorities, conjure a West Coast pastoral. But this lyrical music is quickly visited by an insidiously persistent ‘bamboo replicating’ music of a pulsing, bending unison. Flickering motives and out-of-tune notes quickly infect each instrument, and the harmony quickly morphs into highly chromatic territory. Even the percussionist’s shaker rhythm jumps to the others’ music stands. At several moments, the lyrical pastoral music returns, but the ‘bamboo replicating’ music (like the plant itself) is impossible to kill.