Definitive album version
Flute (alto flute, piccolo), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin, viola, cello, double bass, two 8-string electric guitars, piano, percussion (one player) and drum set (a separate player).
Optional electronics / sound design.
Recorded on Calibrating Friction (2023), featuring Javier Reyes.
Available concert version
Flute (alto flute, piccolo), clarinet (bass clarinet), violin, viola, cello, double bass, 6-string electric guitar (standard tuning), piano, percussion (1 player).
Percussion: crotales (2 octaves), vibraphone, suspended cymbal, and drum set.
The score specifies individual microphones and amplification. Its performance notes also discuss balance measures when amplification is not possible, including a drum shield and alternative sticks. Conductor listed separately from the nine instrumental players.
Guitar-free concert alternative
Flute doubling alto flute and piccolo; clarinet doubling bass clarinet; violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, and one percussionist.
Percussion: crotales (2 octaves), vibraphone, suspended cymbal, and drum set. Individual microphones / amplification recommended if possible. Conductor separate from the eight instrumental players.
Performance materials available by inquiry.
Listen
Explore / buy the album on Bandcamp ↗︎
Scores & Performance Materials
This album arrangement is included in Calibrating Friction: The Album in Full Score (Just a Theory Press, 2026).
Contact for the guitar-free performance materials
Program Note
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is commonly found within the margins of rhyolitic lava flows known as obsidian flows. Obsidian is hard, brittle, and amorphous; it therefore fractures with very sharp edges.
The formation process of this substance evokes striking images that feel eminently suitable to the sonic evolution of a piece of musical drama. Flows Obsidian deploys Contemporaneous’s instrumental forces in a setting that fuses classical chamber ensemble and metal band.
—HS | www.hstafylakis.com
Commission and premiere
Composed for Contemporaneous and ICEBERG New Music. Premiered April 26, 2019 at Cary Hall, the DiMenna Center, New York City.