The Stone Tapestry is a collection of interwoven myths, about origins, lifecycles, and the pace and significance of change. As a whole, the piece divides into two segments that together trace the path of just a few stones, from discovery to disappearance. Musically, several different ideas appear and recur in different forms, modeling change across large time spans. The ritualistic approach to the performance of many segments of the piece is intended to impart a distance to the act of music-making, placing focus on the repetitive nature of the physical acts themselves. The Stone Tapestry was commissioned for Due East by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition at Brigham Young University.
Section 1: Clouds of Stone
Section 2: Between the Sun and the Shade
Section 3: Luminous Stones
Section 4: Beneath a Granite Sky
Section 5: Consciousness Floats into the Wind
Section 6: Wanderer Hymn
Section 7-8: Purification of the Stone and Lament of the Stone
Section 9: Draping the Walls with Ice
The piece was composed for Due East (Erin Lesser, flutes, and Greg Beyer, percussion), and they recorded it for on an album release through New Focus Records with the Grammy-winning Third Coast Percussion. The Stone Tapestry can be performed with optional video set design, created by Anna Weisling. The videos included with the links above are these optional sets, which should be projected behind the performers (note that some sections are left black by design).
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