Run With Me / Istanbul Running (2023), for percussionists (any amount) and fixed media. This composition is part of the creative output of an ongoing praxiography project where I record the sonic environment while I run – aka sound runs. By playing with everyday sounds in novel ways, it is hoped that the audience can develop a deeper relationship with their own soundscape. Made using runs from Macka Park, around the Istanbul Kongre Merkezi, and at the Bebek seaside. Performed by sa.ne.na and MIAM Percussion at Borusan Muzik Evi.
Miniatures on Ethics (2021), for percussion and fixed media. This work was largely a reaction to the artwork Exercises in Ethics by Jarosław Kozłowski in the Arter Istanbul gallery (visible in the background). Ideas and structures present in Kozłowski’s work are echoed in instrument choices (the wooden planks in the gallery and the planks used as instruments actually come from the same tree); timbral gestures and dynamic envelopes, and the crunching of numbers in musical space all refer back to the installation. The piece is made up of two layers: fixed media of manipulated audio and the live improvisation recorded in the museum. Several of the instruments are used both in the fixed and live sound to create cohesion, and also to blur the line between real and imaginary space. The tuned pipes were chosen for this piece specifically for their resonant properties. The goal was to create a musical reflection of time spent wandering the gallery among the artworks, letting one’s mind focus and wander freely, as the exhibition invited you to “…create a meditative pendulum between the real and the imaginary” (Arter). This piece was composed specifically as a part of a solo concert recorded in the museum gallery (the full video is linked), in addition to works by John Cage and John Luther Adams. Thanks to @ARTERistanbul
Dark Bright (2021, v3) for chamber ensemble (violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, clarinet, piano, vibraphone/crotales). Fully notated. Re-orchestration possible. Dark Bright is part of a series based on a single solo improvisation for layers of electric guitar with e-bow. Here I tried to transcribe for ensemble, making use of the richness of timbre available. Accidental sounds from the original became sound marks in the transcription. Performed by Hezarfen Ensemble.
weaving / unweaving (2021) – comprovisation with MIAM Improvisation Ensemble. The music was inspired by the story of Penelope’s clever delay tactic of weaving and unweaving to fend off unwanted suitors as she waited for the return of Odysseus as told in The Odyssey. I miss Odysseus; my heart is melting. (…) but I spin schemes. Some god first prompted me to set my weaving in the hall and work a long fine cloth… …By day I wove the web, and in the night by torchlight, I unwove it. Text from The Odyssey (book 19, lines 137-155, translation by Emily Wilson)
still… still… (2021) for flute, percussion, and electronics (fixed media and live reverb, delay, overdrive effects). This work was inspired by a line from the Odyssey, describing Odysseus as he longed for home. “In tears he stared across the fruitless sea.” I wanted to capture that combination of desire, nostalgia, and absolute frustration.
Stardust (2019), comprovisation. performed by Hezarfen Ensemble (Ulrich Mertin – viola, Gokhan Bagci – cello, Deniz Yurdakul – double bass, Amy Salsgiver – percussion) at the Dystopia Festival, BAU concert hall, Istanbul October 31, 2019
This piece encourages storytelling. It began with a tiny bit of poetry: if it is the end- so what, then? do Not be crushed by that Troubled Cloud. Mountain of Ash, Wisp of Stardust.
I asked the performers to consider what stories they would tell in a dystopian future – remembrances of the past worth holding on to. Compositionally, I limited the pitches available for each performer, gradually adding on to generate more sonic space. Suggestions for playing techniques and colors of timbre were suggested, but the performer was ultimately free to decide. Individual stories were to be supported by the ensemble, with guided transitions between each tale. Written for Hezarfen Ensemble on this occasion.
amy salsgiver percussionist - composer - educator 