I met Codi Takacs in 2017 when we were in an ensemble in Philadelphia called Barnes Ensemble. It was clear to me then that they were a special kind of person: extremely talented at the bass--especially multiphonics and microtones, as well as a unique individual with a creative sense of humor.
This work follows two avenues: one asks a question of the performer: What is beauty for you? And asks the performer to come up with a response on the spot during the performance. The second is supposed to suggest what I think is beauty through the example of the piece.
Orginally, the work was a kind of riddle for me. What I predicted I would find beautiful was the way that the resonator created a beating pattern by the clashing hertz of the bass.
While this did turn out to be beautiful, I realized through the process of working with Codi, and the many performances he was able to give of the work, that the real beauty was the process of making a work for a friend, and a work that allowed Codi to be creative on the spot, as well as a moment for them to embrace their own thoguhts or expression. Each performance Codi came up with a different saying of what they considered beautiful. Sometimes, it seemed, waiting until the precise moment he would need to say what was beautiful in that moment. I have realized my predestined ideas of what I would think is beauty in the moment was counter productive to the way that I wanted to shape the piece, and the main point of the piece as a whole.
Beauty sometimes cannot (or should not) be named or categorized. In this way, the piece is a fool's errand for a fool. And I am the fool.