l’averse

l’averse, meaning the sudden shower or storm, takes its inspiration from a brief, but violent, hailstorm that I was caught in during midsummer of 2015 in Boston.  A humid, sunny day transformed into a chaotic, gusty deluge of precipitation in a matter of seconds.  Driving in my car in Brookline, I had to pull over under a tree and wait for the driving rain and bullet-sized hail to cease.  I remember the sound:  deafening wind punctuated by the sharp, staccato pinging of hail on the hood, roof, and windshield of my vehicle.  In a matter of minutes, however, the gale ceased as suddenly as it had begun.  The roiling clouds fled, leaving behind a quiet tranquility in which I was left pondering this sudden storm.  l’averse seeks to capture the energy of this tempestuous experience and to animate its powerful moods.  As the work progresses, it explores the effect of an incrementally increasing rate of synthesis between its various contrasting textures.  l’averse is dedicated to flutist Jenny Davis.