Note to Self

Note to Self, Nathalie Joachim (2021) 15'
for percussion quartet

Though I’ve spent much of my life trying to quiet my inner voice, for this work, I chose to focus on and explore the thoughts that occupy my headspace as a result of my chronic anxiety.  Note to Self, for percussion quartet and recorded samples of my voice, takes the listener through different phases of cyclical thoughts and states of being that I experience regularly. Composed in three short movements - Much More, Maybe, and Motivated - this work examines the notion of having my inner voice embodied elsewhere, in an attempt to create new space for processing emotion.  It also plays with repetition as an opportunity to bring new meaning, understanding, and perhaps some levity, to the language itself.  Each movement is a reimagining of vocal incantations that, driven by imaginative, virtuosic, and whimsical percussion scoring, re-center and re-purpose my voice as a tool for healing. 

Instrumentation: Percussion quartet
Player 1: Glockenspiel, Crotales, Snare Drum, Roland SPD-SX (1)
Player 2: Metal Pipes (tuned G4, Ab4, G5, Ab5), Snare Drum, Roland SPD-SX (1)
Player 3: Crotales, Snare Drum, Roland SPD-SX (2)
Player 4: Glockenspiel, Snare Drum, Splash Cymbal, Roland SPD-SX (2)

Movements:
I. Much More
II. Maybe
III. Motivated