UC Santa Cruz

The musical composition Ebb's Embrace, Fulfilling Flow is a three-movement piece that explores the concept of ebb and flow through rhythmic, harmonic, and performance technique variation. Each movement is developed from solo sketches composed by the author and were further inspired by works from Ligeti, Lutosławski, and Xenakis, and from traditional Sundanese presentational dance concepts and related drumming notation styles. The first movement, "Rippling Riffles," focuses on managing various rhythmic subdivisions and note density, while the second movement, "Pulling on Heartstrings," explores different levels of rhythmic and textural consonance and dissonance through the use of string techniques and bow placements. The final movement, "Bounds on the Crest," imitates the structure of ocean waves, using arpeggiation, glissandi, and long note decay to create intricate melodies. The composition demonstrates the author’s ability to develop thematic material and integrate diverse musical elements into a cohesive whole. In the following essay, the author reflects on their inspirations for each movement and discusses their usage of various musical concepts and techniques.