Tyshawn Sorey’s Sonic Minimalism

Tyshawn Sorey spent a whirlwind week at Big Ears Festival debuting Monochromatic Light (Afterlife)—a deep, slow-moving homage to the Rothko Chapel’s play of darkness and light. Inspired by Rothko’s nearly black color fields and Morton Feldman’s 1971 score, Sorey strips away conventional structures to let subtle shifts in texture and silence become the real event, drawing listeners into a space where time almost stops.

Bass‐baritone Davóne Tines, who stars in the piece, says those hushed moments are “places of reflection and rest,” underlining how Sorey’s music offers a welcome pause from our nonstop world. Like Rothko’s canvases, his compositions invite you to bring your own perception, finding light in the quiet.

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