Click the second image to listen to an excerpt from Erratics.
 
Title: Erratics
Year: 2019
Instrumentation: Piano & Percussion Duo 
Duration: 5' 00"
 
Written for Psappha Ensemble as part of their Composing for Piano and Percussion Duo Scheme 2018/19.
 
Erratics takes its inspiration from the masses of colossal rocking stones that can be found in various locations throughout the world, which are balanced in such a precarious way that they can be rocked back and forth by the application of force by a single person. These monolithic stones often look very out of place in their surroundings – such as those stones that can be found in the middle of a forest or on top of a hill – and are known as “Glacial Erratics” which, in geological terms, refers to the fact that they are thought to have been transported to their unusual locations by glaciers, which is also reflected in the original Latin word “errare”, which means “to wander”. This piece attempts to portray an abstract image of a vast rocking stone being pushed in various directions by two quasi antagonistic characters, in the form of the Pianist and Percussionist, who instigate movement in the stone and agitate the musical material between them in order to influence the motion of this huge object. In this way, Erratics takes on a double-meaning in its title by acting in a capricious and unpredictable or “erratic” manner, which conveys the abnormal movements of these massive rocking stones.