Bicycle

This piece explores a bicycle’s gear mechanism through overlapping lines that move at differing rates. In the opening passage, the bassoon plays a figure in 5/8, over which the piano sounds a repeating chord in a dotted eighth-note rhythm. The faster motion in the bassoon part signifies a bicyclist pedaling in a low gear, in which the rapid pedal motion translates to a slower rotation of the tires. This concept of fast input and slow output is a central aspect of the piece and helps produce many of the contrapuntal ideas that pervade the music. There is a mechanistic feeling produced by the relentless, driving rhythms, but this is accompanied by more organic elements such as the longer lines that sing above the mechanical pulse. This reflects the perspective and experience of the bicyclist, who powers the machine but is a different entity entirely.