Sagitta

c. 9 min

May 17, 2016
Dolce Suono Ensemble:
Mimi Stillman, flute
Gideon Whitehead, guitar
Dolce Suono Ensemble, DSE Presents, Philadelphia, PA

The Diller Quaile School of Music

flute, guitar

Sagitta was commissioned by The Diller-Quaile School of Music. The work was premiered by Mimi Stillman, flute and Gideon Whitehead, guitar at the Curtis Institute of Music on May 17, 2016. Sagitta, Latin for “arrow” is a constellation in the Northern Hemisphere. Some find a mystical meaning in this arrow of stars flying solo in the sky without archer or target. In geometry, a sagitta is the height of an arc; the perpendicular distance from an arc’s midpoint to the chord across it. Described as an “otherworldly tone poem” in the Huffington Post, the musical materials for this piece were informed by both meanings of the word. The composer wishes to thank Le Moulin à Nef in Auvillar, France, for providing invaluable time and space to compose this work.

— Andrea Clearfield