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Grant Us Rest
Rinzel, Uriah William
Rinzel, Uriah William
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2019
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Grant Us Rest is inspired by my father who lost his life suddenly to a stroke in 2017 as well as my uncle and grandmother, all of whom were musicians and devout Catholics. These three dedications are the theoretical basis for the work. My grandmother was a folk violinist and singer. Instead of using piano or organ, I use guitars. The second violin part is played scordatura (altered tuning) with the high E string tuned down to D as found in many folk traditions. The second guitar makes the same alteration, tuning the high E down to D. This allows for more open strings for chords and double-stops, and the writing intentionally exploits the folk music nature of this sound. As well as the string writing, my approach to percussion is folk-based as well. My dad was a percussionist. Though he played drum set, especially in rock and fusion bands, by the time I was alive, he was mostly playing hand drums (congas, etc.) for church music. He also had a collection of percussion instruments, including tabla and several djembes. I have been heavily influenced by the vocal works of Steve Reich, especially The Desert Music, Tehillim , and You Are . I have used similar approaches to composition, particularly his use of composite rhythms and melodies created by alternating notes between instruments. Also, his preference for one-to-a-part with amplification instead of large ensembles with several musicians to a part yields a direct timbre befitting the rhythmic complexity he devises.
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Music