Hench: Element Sketches

Element Sketches engages the scientific and musical imagination with ten intermediate piano solos inspired by the periodic table of elements. It is a contemporary musical exploration of the characteristics of various elements. In "Helium," for example, ascending broken chords represent the upward floating of this lightest of elements. In "Oxygen," long legato phrases with up-and-down contour are reminiscent of deep breathing. In the B section, the shift to staccato articulation and a different key area evoke the spark and ignition of a flame. "Neon" begins with a bright blaze of sound, and then shifts to a warm soundscape of illumination. In "Iron," a forte dynamic and starkly accented open intervals portray the work of an ironsmith: molten metal being hammered and forged into the strongest of tools. "Krypton" portrays the intense energy of fluorescence through playful rhythms. The final three pieces feature the noble metals, "Silver," "Gold," and "Mercury," that mysterious metal that is liquid at room temperature.