Lowry: Etym/Entom}ology: A Metamorphosis for Flute, Viola, and Harp (Lagniappe Trio, World Premiere)

Christopher Lowry (b.1988)
EtymEntom}ology: A Metamorphosis for Flute, Viola, and Harp, Opus 41

I. Prelude: Beetles (Coleoptera)
II. Scherzo: Grasshoppers and Crickets (Orthoptera)
III. Hymnus: Mantids (Mantodea)
IV. Perpetuum Mobile: Flies (Diptera)
V. Contrapunctus: Ants, Bees, and Wasps (Hymenoptera)
VI. Notturno: Mayflies (Ephemeroptera)
VII. Finale: Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera)

World Premiere Performance

The Lagniappe Trio
Rachel Taratoot Ciraldo, flute
Christopher Lowry, viola
Stephanie Gustafson Amfahr, harp

Recorded Live, June 8, 2021, as part of FestivalSouth: "FIRSTS"; Heritage United Methodist Church; Hattiesburg, MS
Audio/Video by CDL Sound (Christopher Lowry, engineer)

Lagniappe Trio photo by Nicholas Ciraldo

This piece is a long-overdue tribute to and intricate synthesis of my affinity for music and love of entomology. The piece is in seven movements, each of which represents a specific order of insects and attempts to depict them musically in a variety of different ways, some more abstract than others. The title refers to the similarity between the words entomology (the study of insects) and etymology (the study of words), which are quite often confused with each other; I chose to represent the etymological side of the piece by providing very basic etymologies of each order at the start of each movement. The primary motive of the whole suite is a Lydian hexachord representing Class Insecta (six notes for six-legged hexapods!). While this opens the first movement and is present in other sections, each movement is also based around a different variation of this hexachord, essentially developing and “metamorphosing” the main motive over the course of the seven movements.
For full program notes with descriptions of each movement, please visit: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yx599r1u8znt9im/Etym%3Aentom%7Dology%20Program%20Notes.pdf?dl=0