NHIC- INTERFERENCE Piece by Piece

Elastic Moods and Paper Shirt Criminals  - Starts out with sustained chords made up of long single tones held by each member of the group.  Jeff’s guitar riff starts some rhythmic duels and celebrations.  Reprised chords let you down easy.

MicroKairos – A feature for viola.  Gabriel starts things off with a strong idea that gets picked up by the group into a rollicking saunter through an American landscape of many colors.

MINIATURES I  - The first set of miniatures.  Extremely short pieces.  Get to the point and leave it there.

QUANTUM DECOHERENCE – This was the centerpiece of the performance and shows what NHIC is all about.  It is inspired by the bridge between quantum and classical physics.  The piece deals with the relationships and entanglements between musicians, the interference of sound and action, science, music, and the meaning of life.

Double Slit – Interference patterns of similar notes allude to the classic experiments on the duality of light.  Percussion moves it all along.  Are those church bells?  Just sit back and be.

Eigen Do This – A little math goes a long way.  A seven dimensional Eigenspace for improv.  Principal Axes.

Universal Entanglement – On a macroscopic level, the group mixes it up and really has some fun.  Without each other we are nothing.  Together we rock.

That Cat’s Death has been Greatly Exaggerated – Slows down into existential contemplation.  Are we alive or dead or both at the same time.  I ponder, I develop, I repeat, therefore I am.

Anthropica (Life in the Multiverse) – Bring it all back to human interactions pull together with a Conduction inspired by Butch Morris.  Tension builds, tension builds, and finally a big bang to nothingness.

9-3-7-1-6   - Feature for Bass Clarinet.  Carl takes it outside to a NHIC place.  Clockwork, gears, eventual peace.

Straight No Chaser – Each set closed with a take on this monk theme.  Theme - OutThere - Theme.   Everyone adds their own and assorted borrowed melodies on top of one another.    Very dry viola.   String Bass.

Beatniks Revolt! – This miniature started the second set in six.

To Gorge – A feature for voice. Anne takes us on a tour of the vocal chords.  Breathy,  melismatic,  strong,  playful, operatic, and confidential.  The group ebbs and flows with support and interaction.

Oberek Sokkyo - This piece reflects the influences of Eastern Europe and the Far East on the life and times of this American composer.  An Oberek is a polish dance, a bit faster than a polka, and Sokkyo is Japanese for improvisation.  Hop and turn, make rise here and now.  Almost a pop tune in the NHIC canon.

Darkmatter – Feature for Soprano Saxophone.  Paul goes modal, exotic and pastoral.  The group comes in with dramatic backup including a melodic sax/guitar duet.

Gutted and Wired – Feature for Guitar.  Jeff starts off euphonically atmospheric.  Viola comes in with poignant support followed by the rest of the group on a mission through a desert space to an insistent spidery progression.

Chords -  This is an exquisite, fragile piece.  It takes some attention to experience the delicate tension and beauty.

Avenue B - Guitar Feature.  Bob in the east village.  Offbeat rhythms, a little mystery, a group walk through Tompkins Square.  The drums punctuate the edge of the night and eventually break the tension to bring us home.

Gravity – Started off as a computer generated graphical piece.  We orbit one another and explore the cosmos.

Straight No Chaser – Almost Punk Monk Johnny, with Bass Clarinet.  Urgent.