Explorations: Sebastian Armoza’s POR

*As documented, I unfortunately am coming up late with this.  Hopefully I’ll have my Internet situation squared away shortly.  Right now I’m mooching off of another connection to take care of some things that have needed taking care of.*

This week’s Explorations features the music of Sebastian Armoza.  We’ll be hearing his piece POR performed by the Timetable Percussion Trio.  You can hear it at the end of the post. 

Sebastian Armoza is a composer residing in Forest Hills, NY.  Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he completed his education in America, receiving a PhD in composition from SUNY Stony Brook where his primary teachers were Dary John Mizelle and Daniel Weymouth.  He writes in a number of mediums, including orchestral music, chamber works, and electronic, computer generated music.  He has recieved commissions from Yarn/Wire, TimeTable Percussion Trio, Linda Wetherill, and Ensemble Pamplemousse.

Despite the limited number of instruments, POR’s distinctive feature is the exploitation of timbre and texture throughout the work.  Each gesture rolls out and picks up speed begins with a very dry sound and ends up with a hollow sound.  The music creates an atmosphere of hearing ideas in the location of an echo, but saying something different – like a ghost among you.  In fact, the middle section, which has more space than the outer sections, reminds me very specifically of a film moment, with the wooden instruments sound like creaking floorboards, and something mystical lurking in the background, played by the metallic instruments.

Here is POR for your listening pleasure: