The Fragility of Time (2022)
for solo electric guitar
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Matt Sargent, electric guitar
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Matt Sargent, electric guitar
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PROGRAM NOTE
The Fragility of Time is a 58-minute work for solo electric guitar commissioned by Matt Sargent and completed in 2022. The composition’s temporal structure comprises two complete cycles of a 13:14:15 ratio, resulting in a pair of identical rhythmic palindromes that divide the composition into two equal parts and provide a framework for the work’s harmonic material. During the first half, four of the six diatonic pitch-classes heard at the start are gradually replaced by substitutes that produce increasingly chromatic sonorities. At the midpoint of the piece, the permutational process is reversed and the original hexachord is progressively reconstituted over the remaining half hour. In stark contrast to its companion piece The Complexity of Distance, a 2020 work scored for electric guitar with extreme distortion and feedback, The Fragility of Time calls for an unprocessed amplification that allows for subtle shading of dynamics, micro-variations in articulation and timbre, intervals of silence, and an introspective, contemplative mood.