wedge brings forth the material dynamics of the Epic of Gilgamesh, exploring our present-day relationship to this epic poem, not through programmatic or meaningful narrative, but through physical knowledge. The performers regard their instrument as they would a block of clay; themselves as scribes. Like styluses on cuneiform tablets, their fingers indent, scrape, and sculpt, and at times their breath catches as they exclaim aloud a phrase from their writings. Both bassoonist and percussionist play from tablatures that carefully prescribe some actions, while leaving many decisions open to improvisation. Foremost among these improvisatory decisions is the performers’ freedom to repeat phrases ad libitum and to move from one phrase to another, regardless of order on the page. Compounding the ambiguity of form, during the performance, each player listens to a metronome that changes tempo semi-randomly. Occasionally, the metronomes bring the performers into alignment, but often these timekeepers make them drift apart. In this way, each player speeds up and slows down irregularly throughout the piece. Much as the original Gilgamesh tablets are fragmented and written by various authors, the form of this composition emerges in an unpredictable and non-linear manner that is subject to change from one translation to the next.

In 2022 wedge was recorded by the Gilgamesh Arts and Culture Foundation and released on the album “Gilgamesh II.” It was performed and recorded by Jonathan Stehney and Dustin Donahue.