Atem (2007)
(for ensemble)

Large portions of "Atem" were composed during a working residency in Berlin, which inspired its German title. "Atem" translates to "breath," and the work explores the concept of breathing in various ways. I aimed to create what I initially referred to in my sketches as a "ghost ensemble"—an ensemble that only rarely produces clearly defined sounds. For example, the first and third sections are fast scherzos composed almost entirely of subtle breath-like sounds. Breathing also plays a crucial role in the second and fourth sections, where the work gradually adopts a slower pulse, ultimately bringing the instrumental groups together in expansive, unified breathing movements.