Instrumentation: Solo violin
Written: fall and winter 2015
Duration: 5 min
Premiere: Catherine Rinderknecht solo recital. April 10th, 2016. Norman, Oklahoma.
Commissioned by Catherine Rinderknecht.
Program notes:
Prana was commissioned by Catherine Rinderknecht and composed in the fall and winter of 2015. The permiere performance was on a recital given by Rinderknecht on April 10th, 2016 in Norman, Oklahoma.
Prana is a term used in yoga that means "life force" in sanskrit. One of the primary goals of Ashtanga yoga is a collection and flow of prana, which is created through the use of pranayama (breath) and the asanas (poses).
This piece uses music as an analogy for prana. A simple beginning of open strings and conscious breathing flows through various techniques, leading to a peak of speed and pitch, similar to the flow through the asanas in Ashtanga practice. The piece ends with a return to the simple opening material, mixed with traditional chants used to conclude the yoga practice.
Dance Suite Elegy Éros Fire He Would Not Stay Hyperion The Juniper Tree Loose Control Mnemosyne Prana Twilight