Ann Southam’s “Glass Houses” is a set of 15 piano pieces inspired heavily by the piano etudes of Philip Glass and themes from Eastern Canadian fiddle music. Each piece in the set contains a left hand ostinato of 7-33 notes that repeats continuously throughout the piece, while the right hand plays repeating melodic cells of varying lengths. The ostinato in this piece is seven notes: [B-B-A#-C#-E-B-F#]. The challenge in these pieces comes from the interaction between the hands – they very rarely line up with each other, and the pianist must keep them independent and clear throughout.
Nicholas Busch – Piano
Recorded privately.
Nicholas Busch 