Piece for Violin, Clarinet and Piano (2014)
Approximate duration: 10’30”
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MIDI recording. This piece has yet to be performed.
PROGRAM NOTES:
This piece explores various of my compositional interests, especially how to smoothly transition between different sections in a single piece. The opening section combines two different melodic patterns with fixed durations in the clarinet and violin. Although tonally similar, the rhythmic contrasts of the patterns create random harmonies. The piano comes in repeating the opening themes, one in each hand while the clarinet and violin do another contrasting pattern, which is a foreshadow of the piano part in the final section of the piece. The next section has an atmospheric piano tonal ostinato in the left hand with atonal chord clusters in the higher register, against which the other two instruements play a melodic duet, in rhythmic unison but a minor 2nd apart. This section fades into a brief duet between the violin and clarinet which transitions into an ABA portion, the A being rhythmically direct, and the B being somewhat dreamier. This then transitions into the final section where time is amorphous due to the sense of randomness in the overlapping piano patterns.