Platinum Fox

For five sustaining instruments, timpani and tubular bells (2015)The platinum fox is a mutant form of the silver fox, its platinum condition resulting from a dominant mutant gene form arisen spontaneously in many unrelated, geographically scattered fox litters since 1933. This piece explores the idea of small surprises from what seems a given route or outcome, and a fascination with the texture of sound itself when it is simply slid between and away from tempered pitches. The languishing tones and smooth explorations of pitch use profiles and silhouettes of the fox as a point of inspiration. Cat’s scores use a scrolling score technique, where the performers read the score in motion on tablet computers. The work is dedicated to my friend Lisa MacKinney.