“Tide” is an interactive composition for piano, clarinet, and violin. During the performance the audience was asked to strike (whenever they want) on a gamelan gong placed in the center of the room, while the musicians face away from it. Each gong strike causes a change of color in the music, giving the audience influence over passage of time. Floris wrote down instructions for the musicians and for himself as the pianist, but the audience’s input prompts the performers to interpret these instructions and adapt.

The written instructions were inspired by the ocean, the sea was used as a metaphor for the vastness of time and being in constant motion. This way of thinking visually led to the first sketches and the working title “Zee van tijd” which translates to “Sea of time”, a Dutch way of saying you’ve got all the time in the world.

Original Music by Floris Heemskerk