I. Family Conversations (5’)

II. Nocturnal Sidewalks (3’45’’)

III. The Inescapable Chime (2’45’’)

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At especially those times when it seems most of the world is without a place, lost or forgotten, and entirely deprived of love, art which reflects upon security, comfort, and togetherness would appear wholly irrelevant, if not downright irreverent to the general plight of humanity, who thoroughly lacks such luxuries. Be that as it may, if the superb fairywren and feral cat can both inhabit the same island, perhaps this music and the world around it can rightfully coexist– even if necessarily apart.

Hardly a verbatim transcription or mere sonic catalogue, Sonorité Domestique instead aims to convey the emotional resonance of physical sounds so closely associated with one’s home and its surrounding environment. Each movement transmits an impression of its own salient domestic timbre, whether that be occasionally cacophonous family discussions; ruminating, thought-lorn footsteps upon a moonlit neighborhood sidewalk; or incessant jingles of household appliances. Further still, the piece celebrates home, not as a specific location or physical structure, but as a general refuge of community, solitude, and familiarity.

Here, then, are the sounds of home– a home– of relatives conversing and arguing; of contemplative evening walks; of the mundane melodies which make music of our every moment. Many, sadly, cannot hear these things, or do not have the opportunity; and some will simply neglect to listen to their own;– but for those so willing, to me these are the sounds of home.