Score (pdf) 179 KB

Movement 2 audio (m4a) 2.4 MB

 

Program Notes

September Canticles, commissioned by Benjamin and Kristin Polk, is written for the odd combination of English horn and bass trombone, which the Polks play superbly well. Unfortunately, these “auxiliary” instruments rarely, if ever, play together in exposed passages. In pondering this opportunity for unique sound, even my earliest sketches reflect a stranger-meets-stranger scenario. This resulted in writing some woodwind-like music for the trombone, and brass-like music for the English horn.
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The title has no direct programmatic meaning, although I wrote most of the piece in September 2008. Nature’s autumnal colors, abundant outside my new home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, were a partial source of inspiration for colors in the music. The piece’s “canticles” are extended solos for both instruments, often contemplative and introspective. Finally, this piece represents a personal experiment in new formal structures: while the second movement resembles a rondo (A-B-A’-C-A), the first movement is through-composed.
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The first movement begins with a dramatic gesture centered on a unison G# in both parts. Presented at first as a pitch, G# grows into a melodic point of departure, a harmony, and eventually becomes the movement’s tonal center. A six-note motive (G#-E-D#-B-G), itself a dramatic, leaping gesture, gives the movement motivic and thematic unity.
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To contrast these somber, singing qualities, the second movement is an animated dance, with speed, bright harmonies, and wide melodic leaps. The music’s lighthearted, playful qualities are enhanced by moments of humor – but with English horn and bass trombone, how could I resist?