Matthew Lam - Composer

Duration: 6' 

Commissioned by Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra as part of ACO EarShot Program

Premiere: Oct 9, 7:00pm at Dalton Theatre, Kalamazoo College, performed by Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra

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Program notes:

Witches are often seen as powerful with their magic – whether used benevolently or harmfully. In Witchcraft, I imagine the witch’s process of casting powerful, devastating magic and attempt to portray it sonically. The piece follows the trajectory of the witch attempting to cast spells, which are depicted by the quick runnings of the woodwinds and the wild glissandi in strings and trombone. However, the spells failed, and the witch turned to producing potions to refine her magic, in which the music stayed in the upper register eerily. With her second attempt at casting the spell, the witch succeeded in creating disastrous effects. However, at the very end, the spells get out of the witch’s control and devolve into chaos, signified by the increasing amount of noise created by the ensemble, for instance, multiphonics in woodwinds and overpressure in strings. 

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Due to performance agreements I could not publicly share the premiere recording, please contact me if you would like to listen to it.