Stephen Hartke

FAULT LINE (2021) for Solo Harp Commissioned by Yolanda Kondonassis Duration: 7 Minutes Fault Line is based on a sketch for a chromatic harp etude I made in early 1975 and which I founf myself curious to revisit when Yolanda invited me to contribute to her Five Minutes for Earth project.  The opening bars come from that sketch, but thereafter the music found itself going in different directions, but still rooted in those initial gnarly, grinding sonorities.  It was Yolanda herself who offered the title, and I happily seized upon it as I felt it matched the sonic world evoked in the piece with its extensive and angular use of pedal glissandos and the dramatic instrusions of pedal buzzes.

Recording: Five Minutes for Earth Yolanda Kondonassis, harp Azica 71349