Peal was written in April 2000 on a commission from the Da Capo Chamber Players. The piece is based on one theme treated throughout as a two-voice canon by inversion. The time interval and order of imitation shift constantly thus creating rhythmic diversity. The changes in the axis of symmetry provide different harmonic horizons for each variation.

This season, apart from this evening’s performance by Xtet, Peal will also be performed by the Da Capo Chamber Players on their New York State tour, by Brave New Works during their ‘Are You Brave’ Festival (MI) and on their Northwest, and East Coast tours, and by the New Zealand Piano Trio during the Asia Pacific Festival in Wellington, New Zealand.

-Philippe Bodin