January 27, 2018 – Program Notes – Los Angeles Philharmonic – CAMA's International Series at The Granada Theatre

“Music, and art in general, is really about
creating space, and the thresholds within
that space are what really interest me,”
Pereira says. “At the time of writing this
piece, I could not help but think about the
world we now live in, how the ‘threshold’
of our current human experience of
each other and the world has changed
drastically. There are so many issues we
are now faced with, issues that get thrown
at us every day from the news – and now
you have to question if any of it is even
true.
“Whether you agree with certain issues
or not, we are living in a polarized climate.
In a way, there’s a concentration of
intensity which questions the thresholds
we live in. Because of this, life has become
saturated with tension and anxiety – much
like the feeling of this piece.”
Sonic space then is a formal element
of Threshold, and timbre and texture are
its thematic components. This is reflected
physically, with the three soloists spread
symmetrically across the front of the
orchestra, with ceramic tiles – literal
thresholds made musical – in center
place. Indeed, with three percussionists
of its own across the back, the orchestra
is enveloped in percussion, and most
instruments exploit and share percussive
techniques and gestures, just as there are
bowed and resonating wind elements in
the percussion array.
The piece was written for the Maraca2
percussion duo at their suggestion. The solo
parts are very virtuosic, and create a sense
of volatility and anxiousness. But though they
are sometimes competitive with each other
and have defined cadenzas, they are not in
opposition with the orchestra, or contrasted
against it, in conventional concerto dynamics.
That is another freely explored and crossed
threshold, as the sound of soloists and
orchestra merge into a strong collective
presence, expanding and relaxing as a sort
of organic hyper-instrument.
The three soloists begin at maximum
distance from each other, with a softly
sighing ebb and flow from gongs placed on
timpani. Orchestral instruments soon join
them, and the gliding glissandos merge
into the sound of blown air, and finally
pitched scales, which symbolize “meaning.”
The chanting rhythms that come in and out
of time and the temple bowls with bells
suggest religious rituals, representing hope.
“The air sounds that come back, mostly
at the end of the piece, symbolize nature,
a reminder that there’s something bigger
than us,” the composer says. “It is not
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