Night Piece 2 (2016)

Paul A. Epstein (b. 1938) — Night Piece 2 (2016) for organ

The composer writes the following: “‘Night Piece 2’ (2016) is built on a set of five rhythmic cycles between 23 and 29 sixteenth notes in length, all prime to one another. Each cycle is assigned a starting pitch and articulation, which change only when two or more cycles come into sync. The piece employs only a small portion of the entire process, which—starting and ending with all cycles in sync—would last approximately thirty days.”

American composer Paul A. Epstein (b. 1938) was educated at Brandeis University and the University of California at Berkeley. His teachers included Harold Shapero, Seymour Shifrin, and Luciano Berio. Epstein’s music is generally classified as postminimalist, and his catalog includes two operas and much vocal music, as well as instrumental works for large and small ensembles. Epstein was Professor of Music Theory at Temple University where he taught from 1969 to 2001. He has also been active in collaborative work with theater and dance. From 1969–72, he was associated with the New York environmentalist theater group The Performance Group and from 1974–87 was composer and music director for ZeroMoving Dance Company of Philadelphia.