In Memoriam Jon Higgins (1984) / Septet for Three Winds, Four Strings, and

AMG Review of In Memoriam Jon Higgins (1984) / Septet for Three Winds, Four Strings, and

"Blue" Gene Tyranny
All Music Guide

In "Crossings" for a small orchestra of 16 players equally divided on either side of the stage, a slow-sweep pure-wave oscillator slowly ascends throughout the entire seven-octave range of the orchestra. During this ascent, the instrumentalists, cued by video monitors, catch onto and hold a particular pitch -- before, during, and after that same pitch is played from the oscillator. As the pitches slowly move toward each other, you can hear the beat of the frequencies slow down until reaching a steady pitch with no beating. Then the beating speeds up again as the oscillator moves away from the instrument's pitch. "The resultant patterns of deceleration-stasis-acceleration form the basic gestures of the work" (Lucier). For all their seeming simplicity, Lucier's works provide a deep listening experience of great dignity and elegance.