Pepperpot for Two Pianos (2022)

Commissioned by Nataliya Sukhina and Carla Davis-Cash

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This piece pays homage to the various heritages represented through the commissioners, the composer and where our lives converge. It is a snapshot of how various cultures influence each other, and how idiosyncrasies that are found in one culture can be present in another. This emphasizes the notion of having more similarites than differences; a call to unity.

 

Hence the name Pepperpot: a dish which is a stew of sorts originated by the indigenous Arawaks in the Caribbean. This dish has evolved through the various means of cultural exchange and thus symbolic in this work how this exchange bring about new vitality across cultures.

 

Movement I: pays homage to Nataliya Sukhina's Russian/Ukrainian heritage and draws from Czech popular and folk songs she heard growing up.

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Movement II: pays homage to Carla Davis-Cash's Puerto Rican heritage and draws for the themes of Salsa.

 

Movement III: pays homage to Mikhail Johnson's Jamaican heritage and draws from the themes of Jamaican folk song and traditional dance forms.

 

Movement IV: pays homage to all of the cultures in the first three movements but with a Texan flare as that is where we all met.