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This piece has a very special meaning to me because it is inspired by Romanian art and culture and I am deeply honored to be the dedicatee. The piece is called Târgu Jiu and it was composed based on an ensemble of sculptures by Romanian artist Constantin Brâncuși. Although the piece is played as a single movement, it can be divided in three parts, which correspond to three sculptures from the Târgu Jiu ensemble: - The Gate of the Kiss - The Table of Silence -

The Endless Column The piece starts with a rhythmic musical idea that combines melody with percussion. This passage is a beautiful quote from a very old women processional dance called Purtata Fetelor de la Căpâlna. The next section corresponds to the first sculpture - The Gate of the Kiss. "The music [portrayal] of the sculptures makes sense as the Gate of the kiss brings a sequence of notes in pairs representing the kisses. Once you go around the gate you have a fast passage but end going back to the pair of notes but [this time] in reverse.” (Sergio Assad) The transition between each sculpture is made through a dance, inspired by Romanian folk dances. The second main section is The Table of Silence, where we have a sequence of chords that are supposed to contrast the fast lively character of the foregoing dance. The last main section - The Endless Column starts quite slow, in a low register and accelerates as it goes higher in register. The whole idea of this section is to have a perpetual circular motion that traverses the wide range of the instrument (some notes after the 19th fret). The piece ends with a very lively dance, inspired by one of the fastest folkloric dances in Romania - Dansul Călușarilor. This dance is generally performed by men. This is another great detail from Sergio Assad’s building process of this piece, starting with a women processional dance and ending with a fast dance meant only for men. Ana Maria Iordache