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A dancelike, propulsive, intense piece, Snapdragon was composed during a time of media frenzy around America’s initial attacks on Iraq (2003). Snow was falling in Princeton, physically trapping the composer in a tall apartment, while TV media projected sensational stories and graphic images of far away places in turmoil. Bombarded by sensational stories and graphic images, the composer experienced a creeping sense of numbness, as weather and war preyed on her incapacity to act in any tangible way. So, the music that emerged from this time of darkness has a certain physicality, borne of frustration and a sense of disenfranchisement: a way to ‘voice’ when she wasn't at liberty to express her views.
It is music rooted in the body, composed for the body — with dance-like rhythms, pulsing heartbeat, and sighing breaths, Snapdragon powerfully 'voices' emotions that cannot be articulated in words.
Snapdragon was written for the Yesaroun’ Duo, with their fearsome exuberance and technical virtuosity in mind.