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Squaring The Circle (Slow Dancing)

by Kay Rowan

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1.
Squaring The Circle (Slow Dancing) 06:14
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about

If 'Together / Apart' was the statement of a musical intent, 'Squaring The Circle' (Slow Dancing) is my attempt to refine it. First associated with Anaxagoras, the problem of "squaring the circle" referred to the challenge of constructing a square with the same area as a given circle by only using a finite number of steps. It came to be used as a phrase to represent an impossible problem, an issue with no discoverable solution.

During lockdown there obviously hasn't been that much opportunity for collaboration; we have begun to lead much more insular lives and we are definitely by no means out of the storm yet. So a series of pieces emerged that were my attempt to 'solve' this problem - first with 'Together Apart', and now with this.

The initial impetus for this piece came from a commission that never happened - a museum wanting a piece of music based off of a Lar statue. Not much is known of what the Lar is supposed to represent: a small bronze figure of a person, caught in the middle of a dance, that would be present in all home rituals. In this figure I saw a reflection of this 'rolling drone' technique I had been experimenting with - high activity frozen in a moment of stasis. So in 'Squaring The Circle', the harmonic language stays very static, (it's essentially one very long perfect cadence into Eb Major), but the internal motion is always active.

What I love about this technique is that I discover the music as I go. The scores I give the performers are like a roadmap, and what they come back with is as much a product of their creativity as mine.

I am very pleased with how this piece manifested, and I very much hope it brings you some joy in these challenging times.

Please support the creation of new work and the artists involved by paying what you can for the recording.

credits

released August 14, 2020

This recording could not exit without the incredible contributions of my quarantine collaborators. A special thanks must go to Victoria Fenech, Lizzie Baumberg, Julian Gau and Noa Davies.

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Kay Rowan London, UK

Kay Rowan (she/her) - also known as ghostgirl - is a transgender composer, songwriter, word(er) and actor.
She has composed extensively for both the concert hall and the stage, as well as for a number of films, and draws on influences ranging from American minimalism to the traditions of English folk music. Find ghostgirl at: ghostgirlmusic.bandcamp.com ... more

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