This is one of my earliest works, and my first commission in the US. Written for the Fountain Chamber Music Society, Septet is composed for an unusual combination of instruments. Rather than creating a unified sound with these various instruments, my aim was to create a highly polyphonic texture,where each instrument is assigned a different musical and theatrical character. I envision the piece as a eight-armed monster which moves as one entity, whereas each arm is pushing an pulling in a different direction.
A studio recording of Jonathan Keren's SEPTET for flute, oboe, trombone, piano, violin, viola and double-bass. Recording by the Fountain Chamber Music Society conducted by Yonah Zur. Keren won ASCAP's Morton Gould Young Composers' Award in 2004 for this piece.