| work: click title for pdf of the score |
The Moon, The Falling Star - Look Elsewhere |
| ensemble: | clarinet and piano |
| duration: | c.5.5 minutes |
| date composed: | February 2000 |
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program notes:
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When I applied
to the composition program at Towson University, the pieces I submitted
had a very neo-romantic feel to them. With a gaining maturity and
understanding towards new avant-garde music, I took my first foray into
the realm of atonality with this piece. Originally, it was for a
trio of Clarinet, Violin and Piano, but after working through the first
half, I decided to omit the violin and place some of it's most important
phrases in the clarinet part. There is much interplay between the
two remaining instruments and many complex rhythms that are form an intense
counter-point.
Besides experimenting with more convoluted rhythms, I also composed several feather beamed notes, specially notated cluster chords, and a section that is played on the inside of the piano. Though this could be viewed as a citing of Cowell's The Banshee, this piece was composed before I had heard that piece. I had known about interior playing for a while and had employed it in a free jazz group I was in during high school. I choose to use a general notation based on the four main sections created by the framework of the piano, rather then notating for specific notes. Overall, this piece taught me a plethora of things about my own style and compositional approach. I learned many invaluable methods that I still am using and further refining in my compositions two years later. |
| performance history: click on date for real audio file |
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