Five Phases of the Naiad’s Lament (1993)
violin and celesta
duration: ca. 7’
SMMP No. 104
First performance
Hector Scott, violin and Paul Swenson, celesta
at the New England Conservatory of Music, March 2, 1993
winner of the NACUSA Young Composer’s Competition, 1994
Program Notes
Five Phases of the Naiad’s Lament is a single movement work consisting of five geometrically proportioned sections. While the title suggests a programmatic element the music does not correspond to any text. Rather, this is an abstract character piece that attempts to portray a myriad of emotional states within a modest time frame. During the composition of this piece I had taken an interest in the writings of Italo Calvino, particularly If on a winter’s night, a traveller..., in which quicksilver shifts of story undermine the identity of the narrative altogether, leaving the reader to cope with the process itself.
|
