To listen while following along with the score, click here: Three Palindromic Studies, Op. 185 │ Brass Quintet │ Dr. Daniel Thrower

Out of sheer curiosity, I started a slow piece of music to experiment with gestures, rhythms, and progressions when notated backwards. The exercise produced some fascinating results, so I continued until I reached a fitting turnaround point. This first attempt became the second of the three pieces in this set, titled “Deified” (itself a palindrome).It is the more reverent of the three studies, fitting of the hymn-like nature.

The second study composed is the first piece in the set, “Rotator,” titled after the much-used Air Force overseas transports. And again, the title itself is a palindrome.

“Never Odd or Even” was the third palindromic study composed to round out the set nicely. Of course, this title also had to also be a palindrome.

Each of these pieces is 66 seconds in duration, which is (obviously) a palindromic number.

These three pieces are not necessarily “movements” within a single work, but rather, three separate short studies that belong as a set. They work well performed together, replete with a slow, mild middle piece for contrast.