Chant (2013)

Chant is a single-movement work for one piano, four hands that I wrote for my former teacher, the pianist Jerome Lowenthal. Pianist Adam Golka and I gave the world premiere performance at Bargemusic in New York City and this is the world premiere recording.

The piece features a four-part texture in which each of the pianists play single-note melodies in both hands creating a texture of four separate lines where each one alternates coming to the forefront. The horizontal lines interweave and stack on one other, creating colorful and French-inspired harmonies. The atmosphere is hushed and plaintive and in the end we focus in on a single repeated note, that repeats, echoes, and fades into nothingness.

- Michael Stephen Brown

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