Sonoran Storm

Title

Sonoran Storm

Description

American composer of Zimbabwean (Ndebele) and Japanese descent Nokuthula Ngwenyama composed "Sonoran Storm" for viola in 2016.

As liner notes describe: "Humidity rises in the desert. That scorch blaster hitting teh face feels fuller and expectant upon exit. Haboob dust causes a metal gate to clang. It's bulging brown outside. Feet scamper across parched earth as clouds approach. Expanding into the atmosphere, they amass to quench aridity's obsession. Anti-trades carry sea moisture across Baja California to the Sierra Madres during the monsoons. It drifts north across el Camino del Diablo and swirls above the Mogollon Rim. Cumulus giants, made stronger by el Nino, dwart the eastern landscape. The sun sets, the earth cools, and the desert braces for thermal dynamism. Tree branches partner with updrafts while downdrafts pelt the land. Angular veins shoot through darkness. Thunder rumbles with an abusive baritone's vigor while the saguaro leads succulents in thirsty supplication, arms toward the sky. Statis tendrils demand audience: jagged voltage constructs melody in joyful obeisance. Virga stop teasing as ten miles of heaven drop to the floor (section A). Big weather enjoys a snail-paced game of bumper cars, reforming whilst aboreal cards stand empty. It's calm. Is it over? Abated leaves bathe in temporary starlight (section B). But summer westerlies do not relent, and another thunderhead descends. The romp resumes, culminating in a celebration of renewal and life (section A1). Sonoran Storm received its world premiere April 15, 2016 in Zipper Hall at The Colburn School in Los Angeles with members of the advanced modern dancers chorographed by Tamsin Carlson."

See full notes: https://thulamusic.com/sonoranstormbooklet/

Creator

Ngwenyama, Nokuthula (b. 1976)

Source

Nokuthula Endo Ngwenyama (personal website), https://thulamusic.com/
Nokuthula Endo Ngwenyama (Wikipedia), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokuthula_Ngwenyama
Red Rocks Music Festival, "Sonoran Storm" (YouTube), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYhiDCOuJuA

Date

2016

Format

10-20 minutes

Coverage

2000-

Instrumentation

viola / violon-alto

Ensemble Type

solo

Citation

Ngwenyama, Nokuthula (b. 1976), “Sonoran Storm,” Music EnLivened, accessed November 24, 2024, http://omeka.uottawa.ca/music-enlivened/items/show/190.

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