
“The Flower Episode” (2020) – Jessie Marino
The Flower Episode (after Toshi Makihara) by Jessie Marino – program note (K.Ibrahim)
Music and imagery are brought to life through gesture in The Flower Episode (after Toshi Makihara), where choreography and musical interpretation are inseparable. This trio by Jessie Marino, is reminiscent of Thierry DeMey's works for hand ballet, such as Musique de tables or Pièce de gestes, although in this case, the performers are "dancing with their hands on top of a timpani" (J.Marino). Marino developed a unique notation system for the piece that simultaneously represents both movement and rhythm.
This work is ideally suited to the theme of exploring gesture through this year's New Music Research topic and represents a unique piece of repertoire that places movement at the centre of the work with sound being a complimentary, but ancillary result of the gestures and shapes created by the hands.



