Limb from Variety Show by A/B Duo

Limb by Drew Baker is scored for contrabass flute, piccolo, vibraphone, Thai gong (E), Wind Gong, and 3 crotales (D, Eb, F). This piece was commissioned by A/B Duo.

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Sol LeWitt's Scribble Wall Drawing series served as a primary source of ideas for limb. These massive drawings (many in the 8' x 8' range and one as long as 61') are comprised of hyper-dense bands of pencil gestures that, depending upon the particular work, coalesce into formations akin to the paintings of Rothko (horizontal) and Barnett Newman (vertical).

LeWitt's method of developing a visual concept and its associated process, and then delegating the execution of the process to others, offers interesting parallels to the composer/performer relationship. Robert Storr, a member of one of the teams that created the drawings, described the process as follows:

"...far from being a matter of mechanically executing a fixed schema, LeWitt's delegation of labor in the production of his work enlists others in a, for the most part, aleatory and highly sensual activity that was as much at the heart of his own engagement with the result as the generative idea behind each project."

This notion of the sensuality of gesture has long been important in my music, and it is present throughout limb. From the gently pulsating tremolo figures in the opening, to the middle section's gong swells, to the final section's chords tethered together via long tones in the crotales, these gestures, simple as they may be, are intended to elicit a palpable intimacy and sensuality.

- Drew Baker

Tracklist

4.	Limb	9:07

Credits

from Variety Show, released October 7, 2016
A/B Duo:
Meerenai Shim, flutes
Christopher G. Jones, percussion

Composed by Drew Baker
Produced by A/B Duo
Engineered by Alberto Hernandez
Recorded at Fantasy Studios (Berkeley, California)

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