Musique de chambre (Quintette à vents, clavier et cordes)

Although connections between the American sculptor Richard Serra's monolithic, post-minimalist works and my music may not be immediately apparent, I seek to convey in sound the simultaneous imposition and precariousness that I perceive in his pieces.

Serra's sculptures overwhelm the observer with their massive dimensions and sharply defined form. At the same time, they appear as if they might, with the slightest disturbance, collapse. As Serra's work disrupts the observer's sense of physical balance, After Serra similarly intends to undermine the listener's sense of temporal stability. My composition attempts to thwart expectations of formal and gestural continuity, juxtaposing a volatile and restless surface with steadily unfolding underlying processes.

After Serra was commissioned by the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University and is dedicated to Roger Redgate and the members of Ensemble Expose who gave the first performance on 5 April, 2000 at the Warehouse, London.

Jason Eckardt.