
TIP OF MY TONGUE
for two pianos​
Album Release April 25, 2025
Available now on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music​, and Amazon Music
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Commissioned and performed by Sarah Cahill and Regina Myers, co-produced by Sarah, Regina, and D. Riley Nicholson.
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Up's one unifying theme is simply "up." The piece moves up in so many directions: literally, opening with an upward motif that gets pinged between pianos in a groovy, dizzying counterpoint; gradually with increasing frequency moving up the circle of fifths; with upbeat syncopations and tempi; constantly one-upping itself with a burgeoning energy that trips over itself with virtuosic fits; and many other upward motions and themes. Loosely akin to a theme and variations, each movement is a different interpretation of the theme "up," and given the frenetic energy of every moment, tranquil interludes provide a necessary buffer for the movements and give the performers a chance to catch their breath. Even with the addition of these palette-cleansing interludes, the entirety of the work is a manic trip that both explores joyous energy and that darker underbelly of positivity when energy and motion become simply too much to be contained.
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Special thanks to recording engineers Emma Markowitz and Jason O'Connell. Recorded at San Francisco Conservatory of Music Bowes.