Music for Falling From Trees

Released in 2009 on Erased Tapes, 'Music for Falling From Trees' represents a pivotal moment in Peter Broderick's career where he moved from indie-folk sensibilities toward a rigorous modern classical framework. Commissioned as a score for Adrienne Hart's contemporary dance piece, the album follows a narrative arc centered on a patient in a psychiatric hospital. Broderick imposed a strict creative limitation on himself, using only piano and strings. To meet the choreographer's request for the sound of a ticking clock, he utilized extended techniques, such as tapping his fingernails on the violin's wooden body. This tactile, physical approach to instrumentation gives the record a unique 'wooden' quality. The album is structured in seven parts that mirror the patient's journey from observation to shock therapy and eventual recovery. It stands as a landmark of the late-2000s neoclassical movement, bridging the gap between academic minimalism and emotional, cinematic storytelling.