Wondrous and seemingly weightless, Komorebi flickers into life with sustained violin harmonics mixing with the glow of the vibraphone's repeated three-note figure that gently pushes the piece along. Fragments of melody gradually emerge for the violin as it takes over the vibraphone's rhythmic figure, now given nuance through evolving articulations and meter. However, it is the violin's soaring, patiently held material that dominates the first half of the piece, punctuated with aching glissandi descents. Komorebi eventually breaks free from its soft pulse to wander through a dream-like senza misura passage. Sonorities intermingle as the vibraphone's elastic, rolling gestures and bowed keys converse with the violin's harmonic tremolos and delicately expressive statements.

From the Composer

This work is inspired by the beautiful Japanese word komorebi, which means "sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees". I've used the ryukyu mode from Okinawa, Japan, as the tonal basis of Komorebi. Ryukuan musical traditions differ from those of mainland Japan in several ways, including the use of different instruments and tonalities. Unlike many traditional Japanese modes, the ryukyu mode resembles a major scale using scale degrees 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7. I was also interested in finding ways to blend the timbral qualities of the violin and vibraphone, especially through the use of extended playing techniques.