one small step

‘That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.’ Neil Armstrong’s universally famous words provide the basis for Christian Jost’s composition. As a child, Jost was captivated by the first moon landing and has been fascinated by space travel ever since. This fascination has repeatedly found its way into his compositional output, for example his ‘Odyssey in four parts’ Phoenix resurrexit, featuring astronauts as protagonists. The composer creates the musical equivalent of the suspension of space and time experienced in outer space through the extension and diminution of a variety of rhythmic and melodic figures. A spherical musical backdrop is conjured up with the aid of percussion instruments such as the marimbaphone and vibraphone and long sustained notes on the strings.