Commissioned by Eighth Blackbird, for Molly Barth, on the occasion of her exit from the ensemble. Premiered in Evanston, Illinois, summer 2006. (With apologies to C.D.)

 

The flute plays Debussy’s “Syrinx,” under which the other instruments comment with ghostly echos and whispered flourishes. One-by-one, all but the flutist move to a table on which is a tub, half-filled with water, and 5 triangles of different sizes. Each takes a triangle and beater and plays the triangle, dipping it into the water as notated.