H97 Four Night Pieces (2022-23)
Instrumentation:
Eb Clarinet, Bass Clarinet in Bb
Trombone
Percussion (one player — 3 tom-toms (high, medium, low), 26" suspended cymbal, tamtam. Timpani mallets and bow required)
Solo Piano
Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass (C extension required)
Duration: 20’
Programme note:
Written in the summer of 2022, these four meditations on aspects of sleep and wakefulness during night hours amount to a kind of noctuary.
1] ʻnoctuelleʼ: (French for moth) the most mysterious of night creatures.
2] ʻdreamlessʼ: dreamlessness is a kind of limbo.
3] ʻvespertinusʼ: (of the evening in Latin) the most mercurial of the pieces.4] ʻsomnámbuloʼ: (Spanish for sleepwalker) the body walks solemnly, haltingly, but the mind is overly active.
ʻFour Night Piecesʼ is dedicated to the pianist and my good friend, Andrew Zolinsky by way of thanks for his many excellent performances of my piano pieces over the years. They last about 20ʼ.
S.H.
16 May 2023