They Hearken to Echoes was composed in Austin, Texas (1997, revised in Oberlin, Ohio 2001). The title, which describes the performers literally and metaphorically, is from the writings of architect Louis Sullivan. The overall design of the piece moves from distance to closeness: with respect to the physical placement of performers; with respect to melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic material; and especially with respect to echoes. Perhaps it is a "call-response" work, where the response time gradually diminishes until the call and the response are simultaneous. Or perhaps it is a canon modeled on a drawing by M.C. Escher, in which the second voice slowly gains ground until both voices share a moment of synchronicity.
© fWMp 2004
"The most artistically satisfying work on the program was Tom Lopez's 'They Hearken to Echoes,' an incredibly effective, lightly staged work for two flutists that draws its inspiration from architect Louis Sullivan, whose objects appear to transform objects at a distance to a point of closeness.Using great imagination and a keen sense for the dramatic, Lopez invokes a slow but relentless sequence of canonic, imitative and echo-driven effects that achieves the coming together of the two flutists from afar-musically and spatially. The performers begin at opposite ends of the hall and gradually approach each other, as the echoes eventually turn into a two-part invention until the flutes ultimately meld into a unison synchronization of pitch and timbre. Flutists Kelly Covert and Kristin Bacchiocchi achieved an impressive, symbiotic blend of tone and color."
- The Post-Standard, April 2, 2001, David Abrams