11:11 – A Dance at the Edge of the World

My first diary entries on 11:11 are from 1998. It was then that I began noticing the time ’11:11′ on digital clocks. For no apparent reason, and far more often than might be coincidence, I would have the impulse to look at a clock, and it would read ’11:11′. At first it was amusing, and then it became a bit spooky, as if something were trying to get my attention. I began to think and meditate on ’11:11′, and received images of impending crisis and disaster. Then I decided to write a piece out of these feelings. Surprisingly when the music finally came out it was not in a crisis mode. It was for the most part filled with a bright and hopeful spirit. My feeling now is that the music represents what comes after crisis has been weathered, and that is a huge release of energized creative flow – a dance – and in a time when old ideas are shaken and challenged, and the new must be invented, “a dance at the edge of the world,” that is, dancing a new world into being.

The Bach Chorales have been a part of my study and meditation for many years, and the music of 11:11 grows out of three chorale melodies. The first, Wie bist du, meine Seele (How are you my soul), is stated at the beginning in my own arrangement, and the third, Du, O schönes Weltgebäude (You, O wonderful creator of the world), finishes the piece. The second chorale, Aus Tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (In deepest need I cry to you), provides only its opening motive which serves as the foundation for the middle of the piece, and also to tie the whole composition together. “In deepest need I cry to you” is finally a motto for the entire work, and a prayer for our time of crisis.

Program Note by David Maslanka