Telegraph [Woodwind Duo & Ensemble, Trio]

Telegraph by Marc Hoffman is an energetic, single movement piece inspired by the language of coded signals used with the electric telegraph. For more than one hundred years, the telegraph was the principle means of transmitting printed information. Using Morse code, a language of dots and dashes, the 26 Latin letters (A through Z) could be transmitted via the Morse key over long distances. The work uses the letters a, t, a (encoded as .-..-) because of the inherent syncopation. The composition was written for Phoenix Down Trio and was premiered at the Charlotte (NC) New Music Festival in July, 2021.