for Solo Violoncello and Piano
In thy presence, I melt them all away is a piece that expresses an ephemeral perspective or experience. The title is a quote from poem XXXIV in the Divani Shamsi Tabriz written by Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī. In thy presence, I melt them all away is rooted in the experience of improvisation both as a performer and as a listener. The degree of rubato asked for in the piece is enough for any soloist to make it their own. Thus, an ephemeral quality emerges as the piece is likely to never sound exactly the same for every performance. From Persian classical music, the piece uses Dastgâh-e Râstpanjgâh. Dastgâh are a group of notes with direction; there are seven Dastgâh and five Avaz in the Radif system in Persian classical music. Related to each Dastgâh, there are many Gushe, which are considered a framework for improvisation. With In thy presence, I melt them all away, you will hear four Gushe from Dastgâh-e Râstpanjgâh: Darâmad,’Oshshâq, Zang-e Shotor, and Zangule.
