Sean William Calhoun | Composer and pianist

Circles and Sigils, for percussion quartet (or percussion trio and piano) (2019) – 9'

Circles and Sigils evokes an arcane rite not of any historical sort but of any number of fictional settings. Most present in my mind was Critical Role, which had recently become very fond of teleportation circles (and the running joke about Mercer’s previous mispronunciation of “sigil” also probably informed the title). The “circles” most directly refer to cycling melodies that repeat and develop throughout the piece. It begins distant and foreboding, but gains intensity through a few waves, becoming an onslaught of sound.