Akshaya Avril Tucker: Hold Sacred (2020)
Akshaya Avril Tucker, composer
Hold Sacred Program Note
The goal of the piece is to soothe. To hold something sacred to us is soothing; to remember it is soothing.
I mean to hold sacredness literally. Make "hold" the verb that it is. Hold sacred, as you would a baby chick, a tiny plant, a memory, or someone’s hand.The gentleness comes from the desire to protect this dear object, to stay in this comfort for a while...
With the task of meditating on the concept of "sacredness," for WindSync's "Sacred and Profane" program, I had to ask what was sacred to me personally. The answer, especially during this pandemic, is "touch and feel" things. Repotting plants. Kneading bread dough. (Giving a hug!) Fewer think-y things... It is touching that keeps me going. It soothes anxiety; a magical antidote, special serotonin. We may only create a few moments of soothing sounds together, and then... we will go right back to the way things were. But maybe just for a moment, we can hold this feeling in our hands.
"Hold Sacred" features a blend of abstracted raga-inspired fragments that swirl through unusual harmonies and (hopefully) invite a meditation on whatever is most soothing to the listener.
As part of the SPA commissioning grant, members of WindSync and Akshaya were interviewed prior to the premiere of Hold Sacred where they talk about the process of how a piece of music is created and much more!