---
title: Near, Under, Far
slug: near-under-far
instrumentation: For solo cello.
premiere: March 2022. (Online)
recordings:
  Audio: https://jessebrault.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/recordings/near-under-far.mp3
externalLinks:
  'Musaics of the Bay': https://www.musaics.org/stayathomesymposium/51-near-under-far
shortInfo: Based on <em>Die blaue Eiche</em> by Luc Tuymans.
date: 2021-03-01
categories: 
  - Solo
---
_Near, Under, Far_ is a response to Luc Tuymans’ painting _Die blaue Eiche_ (“The Blue Oak”). 
I was struck by both the loneliness and angularity of the painting, 
and sought to capture these two ideas musically.

As I was first sketching the piece, the region where I was living experienced extreme cold weather.
Standing outside one afternoon during this cold snap, I asked myself: what is the opposite of _Die blaue Eiche_? 
I imagined a large blue oak, green with many leaves, somewhere in a field in California. 
I thought of viewing it from a close distance, from underneath its shade, and from far
away on a distant hill. I then imagined these views of the long-frozen tree of _Die blaue Eiche_. 
In picturing these opposite scenes, I felt both unease and longing, which I subsequently set out 
to express musically (in addition to the painting’s loneliness and angularity).

_Near, Under, Far_ was commissioned by _Musaics of the Bay_, San Francisco, California, 
and was composed for cellist Gabriel Cabezas.