Duration: 6'30"
Commissioned by and dedicated to the smol ensemble
The title for this piece came almost immediately after I was asked to compose a work for the eclectic ensemble, smol ensemble. Aside from the obvious connection to the name of the commissioning group, this piece attempts to portray the art of small talk, especially at social occasions. At these types of events, the conversation is usually light, casual, and often sparkling with good feelings. Nevertheless, even in small talk there are undercurrents of hidden meaning within seemingly innocuous conversations. These undercurrents are represented periodically in the piece by deep sonorities in the synthesizer. There is even one moment where all motion stops and the piece dissolves into long-held tones of brightness as well as dissonance all while the toy pianos chime slowly in the background. It’s the moment where a person catches the eye of a stranger from across the room, is immediately attracted, and is lost to a rush of possibilities. The moment, and the stranger, quickly pass and the music resumes whirling along seemingly without effort. However, the music is intricate and highly rhythmic throughout so the performers will most likely not feel like it is effortless to play at times. Yet, this is how small talk works. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort and skill to be charming.