Forest Worship =
synergy with the unseen
for alto saxophone and fixed media
Jonah Cabral, alto saxophone (jonahcmusic.com). Performed in San Jose, CA, as part of the Saxtronica concert on July 27th.
Forest Worship (2025) Program Notes
Forest Worship (2025) culminates several projects and meditations by William E. Hawkins. Combining modular synthesis, roasting pan sounds, and a dynamic Max patch, this two movement work explores the forest from the fungal, micro-bacterial, creepy-crawly perspective. In "Microbiome," all the energy swirling and cycling between these living systems flourishes unabashedly. The contrasting "Inside Out" asks how human activity might sound or feel from within swampy ponds, inside trees, and from underground.
Movements
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What if you could here all the creep-crawlies in the forest? Where I am from, Boston, the forests are pretty quiet, but so much is going on underneath the surface! This piece explores that unseen energy.
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The metallic sound of a roasting pan transforms into a bellowing animal. The scary sounds of humans above, muffled by feet of earth, reach the critters below. The piece slowly builds in activity and tension, tracing the arc of human activity. Perhaps optimistically, the sounds fade and silence reigns once again.