jb-ssg-site/texts/compositions/NearUnderFar.md
2024-06-09 19:40:13 +02:00

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---
title: Near, Under, Far
slug: near-under-far
instrumentation: For solo cello.
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 paintings loneliness and angularity).
_Near, Under, Far_ was commissioned by _Musaics of the Bay_, San Francisco, California,
and was composed for cellist Gabriel Cabezas.