Sarah Hennies | Thought Sectors
On Wednesday, October 26th, 2022, Rebecca Lloyd-Jones presented the Australian Premiere of Sarah Hennies percussion solo, Thought Sectors.
One hour in length, Thought Sectors explores concepts of divided consciousness - the active and receptive brain, with the composition being based on these conditions and their manifestation through sound exploration.
Staged at the Woolloongabba Substation, the virtuosic percussion solo consists not only of conventional instruments, such as the vibraphone and bass drum, yet also incorporates items such as a flower sifter, stapler mixing bowl, and large pitcher of water.
Program note:
“Thought Sectors” was somehow based on “divided consciousness," a term coined by psychologist Ernest Hilgard that theorized the human brain is divided into distinct components rather than a single unified consciousness. He assigns two modes of consciousness to the brain - active and receptive - and the piece is based on these conditions, both separately and then simultaneously. I began this piece before the COVID-19 pandemic began in spring 2020 when I took a long break from composing. The amount of time that has passed since I first conceived of the piece coupled with a harrowing few years of early parenthood, a long distance job, and serious mental health issues mean that this piece is a particularly honed example of a mysterious, semi-rational approach to composition I have been exploring since 2018. What is this piece? How did I make artistic decisions? I truly don’t remember and perhaps this is analogous to the vast portions of our brains to which we have no direct access. - Sarah Hennies
Sarah Hennies | Thought Sectors (Aust premiere), performed by Rebecca Lloyd-Jones
History
ERA Category
- Performance of Creative Work - Music
Eligible major research output?
- Yes
Research Statement
American composer Sarah Hennies composition for solo percussion, Thought Sectors (2020), is a work of constant tension and dichotomy. Inspired by psychologist Ernest Hilgard's term 'divided consciousness,' a theory where the human brain is divided into distinct components rather than a single unified consciousness, the composition pushes the extremes of audible and in audible, propelling the soloist to the edge of virtuosity while simultaneously occupying the banal, and is constantly challenging the listeners level of comfort and familiarity throughout its 60-minute duration. Composed of three movements and consisting of traditional musical stave notation, the form is dictated to the performer by the minute and second. The work begins stoically - a simple bass drum striking formation around the skin with a chopstick. Unlike a drum stick or traditional bass drum beater, the chopstick allows the natural overtones of the drum to develop; however, this motif is soon interrupted by the dropping of pebbles into a bowl - two seemingly mundane and hypnotic tasks colliding in sound and consciousness, set the tone for the opening of the work. Every motif presented in the work is composed as a cell, to be repeated for a specific duration, and with this effect, the composer creates a harrowing and, at times nauseating sense of space and time. Over the following 20 minutes, the listener will sense gradual and subtle changes in tempo and dynamic until a pivotal moment of silence where the overtones of bells morph into and absorb the vibraphones sound, with the focus of encouraging and creating microtonal beating. Between the 25-38-minute mark of the work, varying rhythmic motifs are introduced on the vibraphone, requiring a robust level of stamina by the performer. Although minimal, each cell is of conflicting polyrhythms creating dense yet intangible compositional melodies and 'difference tones' - the acoustic phenomena where two tones or pitches are played simultaneously to create the illusion of other pitches being present to the listener. Once at the climax, there is a sudden moment of silence and calm. This calm is broken by the subtle and heart-wrenchingly beautiful sound of running one's hands in a circular motion through the water, acting almost like a distant cleansing, as we move forward to the next section of the piece. The final 20 minutes of the work channels inward - to the mysterious timbre of a bass drum rim, stapler, and mixing bowl. With a slow and deliberate pace, this melancholic combination sets a new sonic mood, creating an illusive and somewhat euphoric state. Bowed vibraphone and flour sifter is slowly introduced into the texture, with agonizingly slow and static repetitions. Finally, the piece ends with slowly and cautiously dropping pebbles into the water until inaudible. Thought Sectors is extremely virtuosic to achieve, yet this complexity may be obscure to the listener or audience member. This work challenges the concept of mastery in the modern/contemporary percussion canon and forges new paths of composition for performativity and textural nuances for the percussion soloist.Copyright notes
© 2020. The author holds copyright in this workDuration of performance
60minutesPerformance size
- Solo
Estimated size of audience
30Authors of work performed
Sarah HenniesExhibition date from
2022-10-26Exhibition date to
2022-10-26Was the work disseminated?
- Yes
Form of dissemination
- Public performance
Scope of dissemination
- Local
Did the work go on tour?
- No