CHLORIS

About the Piece…

“The possibility of the vibraphone as a solo instrument is often overlooked. Although I have used it frequently as part of an ensemble in many of my compositions, this piece turns the focus fully onto the instrument itself. It draws on a range of under-examined techniques—varying the placement and types of mallets, and incorporating alternative modes of sound production such as scraping and bowing—to expand the vibraphone’s timbral palette. The piece also explores how the speed of the vibraphone’s motor shapes the instrument’s resonance through amplitude modulation, treating this sustained layer as distinct from the pulse articulated by the mallets.

The work is inspired by my practice of ikebana, the traditional art of flower arrangement that originated as an offering by Buddhist monks. Its title refers to Chloris, the nymph of flowers in the Elysian Fields. Written while contemplating my father’s death, the piece reflects on ideas of transformation and transience.”

-Hiroya Miura