WORKS: CHAMBER MUSIC—MIXED ENSEMBLE

Triskele (2015)

Oboe, viola and piano four-hand

Duration: c. 12 mins.

The work was written for the Virtuoso Soloists, by whom it was premiered on a three-city tour of Italy in July, 2015. A triskele is an ancient symbol, most closely associated with the Celts, that has been used in various forms and cultures for around 6,000 years. It consists of various configurations of rotationally symmetrical objects around a center-point, most frequently, spirals, curved lines, or representations of bent human legs. In pre-Christian times it was thought to represent the sun, eternity and reincarnation, or the primal elements of earth, sky and water. With the introduction of Christianity to Ireland around the 5th century, the three-part symbol came to represent the Holy Trinity. Triskele reflects the tripartite nature of the symbol in the overall structure, and the intertwining of the oboe, viola and piano lines. (Written for two players, the piano part primarily acts as one, albeit complex, line.) The music unfolds in a rhapsodic fashion, with each section reflecting on and developing previous material. This progression is interrupted by a central, tranquil passage, which is in turn, interrupted by a more active texture, before being subsumed by a return to the rhapsodic opening material. The work concludes with a final section that acts to reconcile the previous materials in a cohesive whole.

Four Bagatelles for Mixed Ensemble (2012)

Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, piano, two violins, viola, cello, and bass

Duration: c. 13 mins.

Written for the Time’s Arrow New Music Ensemble at the Boston University School of Music, by whom it was premiered in 2014, Four Bagatelles is a work for wind quintet, piano, and string quintet. The opening movement, Ballade, weaves a sinuous line throughout the ensemble, ending with a cadenza-like passage in the piano. The second movement, Kaleidoscope, consists of a series of harmonies refracted through a slowly moving lens, creating a static, yet ever-changing sense of color. The third movement, Burlesque, provides a scherzo-like interruption to the more overtly lyrical movements, while continuing the first-movement’s linear interplay. The work concludes with a Serenade, which incorporates fragments of material from the previous movements in a gentle synthesis.

Five Miniatures (2011)

Flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, viola, cello and bass

Duration: c. 12 mins.

Five Miniatures, an octet for mixed ensemble, was commissioned by ALEA III, Contemporary Music Ensemble in Residence at Boston University, and premiered by that ensemble with the composer conducting in 2012. The odd-numbered movements, “Entrada,” “Interlude” and “Finale,” form a linear narrative which is interrupted by the even-numbered movements. These interruptions, “Nachtmusik I and II,” provide quiet reflections on the surrounding movements. The work cycles through a series of “proto-chords” of fixed registration which generate all of the harmonic and motivic material.

Structures (2010)

Flute, bassoon, violin, viola and cello

Duration: c. 15 mins.

Structures was commissioned by Music at Eden’s Edge, by whom it was premiered in 2010 on a three-city concert series and broadcast on WGBH during their 95.5 All Classical Festival. Funded in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), and Meet the Composer/New England, the work has been recorded on the Centaur Records label (CRC3483). The title carries a double meaning—that of a musical, as well as physical, structure. Each movement employs an historic building in Essex County, Massachusetts, as a point of departure. The buildings, and the associated histories of their real or fictional occupants, provide a loose narrative that runs through the work. How the actual buildings influence the musical structure varies from movement to movement. One aspect that unites all of the buildings is in their direct, or tangential, association with the Salem witch hysteria of 1692.

The first movement is based on the House of the Seven Gables (Turner-Ingersoll mansion, Salem–ca. 1668), and is set as a symmetrical seven-part rondo reflecting the contour of the well-known roofline. This historic building provided the inspiration for Hawthorne’s famous novel from which the popular name of this structure is derived. While not overtly programmatic, the music does evoke the oppressive gloom of the novel, progressing to a corresponding lightening of mood at its conclusion.

The second movement is based on the Rev. John Wise House (Essex–1701), which reflects the eminently practical nature of post-and-beam construction, where additions were added as need for space and money allowed. Faint but evident traces of the evolution of this structure appear in various places throughout the house, providing quiet testimony to the “living” nature of the residence. In line with the historic narrative, the Rev. John Wise was a strong advocate of democracy and “no taxation without representation,” providing a key point of inspiration for the later Founding Fathers. He supported Increase Mather’s attempts to ban “spectral evidence” from use in the witch trials, and later attempted to have the convictions reversed.

The final movement draws its inspiration from the First Religious Society (Newburyport–1801). The spire of this venerable structure is a prominent landmark in this coastal town, visible from all directions. The church, (now a Unitarian Universalist congregation), has roots that stretch back to the 1630s, and is a living descendant of the earliest settlers in Massachusetts. The proportions of its beautiful spire are translated into the proportions of the movement, ending with the “squeak” of the weathercock at its pinnacle.

Vanessa Holroyd, flute; Sujie Kim, bassoon
Heather Braun, violin; Daniel Doña, viola; Agnes Kim, cello
CENTAUR RECORDS | CRC 3483

Foss Epigram (2010)

Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, 2 percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello and bass

Duration: c. 5 mins.

Written for, and premiered by, Theodore Antoniou and Alea III, the piece was part of a joint commissioning project for a multi-movement work by former students of Lukas Foss (1922–2009) for a memorial concert. The work involves a motive based on the opening phrase of the Horst Wessel Lied, a Nazi anthem that Foss heard in Berlin as a youth, and later quoted in his work Curriculum Vitae with Time-Bomb.

The Wind Sall Blaw for Evermair (2008)

Flute, bassoon, harp and piano

Duration: c. 10 mins.

Written for pianist Shiela Kibbe and harpist Barbara Poeschl-Edrich, by whom the work was premiered in 2008, along with Linda Toote, flute, and Richard Ranti, bassoon, the quartet explores the sonic resources of this unique ensemble. The title is the closing line of an anonymous Scots ballad, The Twa Corbies. In the poem, the narrator overhears two ravens discussing their next meal—a slain knight, abandoned by his hawk, hound and even, lover. The contradictory themes of loss juxtaposed with the continuity of life, are echoed in the divergent musical material of the work.