Gaseous elements coalesce

forming superheated and 

gravitational bodies

around which particles orbit

and through eons of accretion

accumulate into spheres

as life goes by countless times

and ocean waves wear away and 

dissolve solid earth to amass sands

from which are constructed pavements

and sidewalks worn down and crumbled

by comminution from weather and soles

to powder and dust and to return

washed back to the sea

once again for the thousandth time...

 

 

Movement I. comminution/dissolution

 

Movement II. accretion/coalescence

​

Diptych is a two-movement composition for violoncello and live electronics. Thematically and sonically, it demonstrates the processes of things falling apart (comminution/dissolution) and of things coming together (accretion/coalescence). It juxtaposes these two seemingly polar actions, and considers both abstractly and concretely as direct illustrations for human kind’s relationship with Nature and our inclusion in its ever-winding thread: the evolution of our universe; the begetting of life on our planet; the subtle or violent atomic gesticulations of chemical reactions; civilizations, cultures, and societies as fluid entities; the current state of the Earth globally amidst a pandemic, political/social turmoil, and the climate crisis, as well as locally through human interactions within our communities.

 

Just as a beach is made up of a multitude of minute particles, our actions, however small they may seem on the surface, are deeply connected to the change in our communities, around our planet, and throughout our universe.

​

Antonio Forte

November, 2021

​

(Diptych was premiered by INTERFERENCE new music collective on Thursday, December 2, 2021 at 7:30pm, at the Katzen Art Gallery in Washington, DC. Nancy Jo Snider, violoncello and Antonio Forte, live electronics.)