Masquerade (2014) by Eric Sawyer
for viola and percussion
World premiere

Masquerade for viola and percussion imagines a nocturnal scene where appearances are indistinct and human faces concealed. A single melodic instrument, the viola, works with modal scales in improvisatory fashion, supported by dance rhythms in the percussion. The instruments eventually lead each other far afield in harmony, character, and tempo, but the mottos accumulated from the opening continually resurface, providing a dual sense of undertaking a journey and remaining in the same place.