Program note

“Jet Lag”, like other pieces I wrote around the same time, uses a method I developed for moving gradually between distinct harmonic areas (see my page on “Teal” for more). As “Jet Lag” opens, a very loud chord is juxtaposed with melodic material from a completely different key. The melodic material develops slowly into a rich fabric, following the promise of its harmony. The opening chord keeps chiming in, but it becomes less frequent and less prominent—soon the chord barely stands out from the surrounding music, and we stop noticing it. But without our realizing it, the music that took over from the beginning is slowly working its way back to that chord. When we arrive at the chord again it is a peculiar surprise, given how distant from relevance it seemed at the beginning.

The feeling is much the same as the feeling of going on a long flight. We have this idea in our head of where we’re going, yet we’re always really surprised when we land that seven hours earlier we were in a totally different place.