William Susman
Motions of Return
(1996)
for flute and piano
Duration: 9'
Instrumentation details:
flute
piano
Motions of Return
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Work introduction
Motions of Return was commissioned by Xanaduo, Esther Landau, flute and Lee Nolan, piano a San Francisco-based duo active in the 1990s. It was premiered at Old First Concerts in San Francisco, October 24,1997.
The piece is based on cyclical material of melodies and chord progressions. The title is taken from the following quote:
We have diverse curious clocks, and other like motions of return... We have also houses of deceits of the senses; where we represent all manner of feats of juggling, false apparitions, impostures, and illusions... These are (my son) the riches of Salomon’s House. —Francis Bacon, The New Atlantis, 1626