The title Cycle Compression refers to the fundamental technique I used to create momentum in the piece. By repeating a short melodic idea, by “cycling” it, and compressing it into incrementally smaller spans of time, I was able to create the sensation of acceleration. This device plays out most explicitly in the first movement, “Anvil Strikes,” which is almost mathematical in its process. The opening phrase begins in groups of four notes, followed by three, followed by two, then reaches an impact point and restarts the process again.

Movement two, “Resonance Flood,” is characterized by a more slowly-evolving, fluid texture. In this movement, rather than cycling short melodic units, I cycled long, gradual crescendos. At the peak of each crescendo, a sudden loud punctuation causes the music to reset to its original quiet dynamic. Eventually, the process of cycling breaks down, allowing an expansion into a resonant chord.

In the final movement, “Always Shimmering,” I freely shift between approaches – at times the music mathematically compresses melodic ideas, at times it resists compression, causing the ensemble sonorities to feel momentarily suspended.