Chamber Concerto (2020)
For Sinfonietta
(1111/1111/2perc/hp/pno/11111)
Commissioned by the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, David Dzubay, Director
This piece was made possible by a grant from the Fromm Music Foundation
Dedicated to Claude Baker upon his retirement from Indiana University
Duration: 15 minutes
Listen
Listen on SoundCloud
Performed by Indiana University New Music Ensemble
David Dzubay, conductor
Program Note
Chamber Concerto (2020) is the third in a series of concerti composed in short succession, following Double Concerto and Concerto for Orchestra. These two previous works think of the orchestra as a community of soloists, whose interactions highlight each player’s individuality, but also the power created through their unity. Chamber Concerto builds upon these ideas by thinking of the orchestra members not as soloists but as chamber musicians working together intimately and intricately, focusing on how each player plays a small but crucial role in the ensemble’s ultimate expression. While the concept of a unified collective informs the instrumental writing, conceptually the work is built upon juxtaposing seeming contradictions.
The first movement, “Chorale,” is an exploration of the subtleties of timbre (tone color). Unlike traditional chorales, the harmony here is mostly static, with its subtly shifting chorale “tune” arising through changes in voicing and orchestration. On a personal note, my discovery of the myriad tastes of cheese (after outgrowing a lifelong allergy to milk shortly before composing this work), contributed to my idea of focusing on a single harmonic ingredient as a means of yielding a world of distinct tastes.
The second movement, “Games,” looks at the ensemble as a group of individuals all playing one small part in creating a larger gesture or action. The movement’s structure traverses across a range of playful, humorous games, all linked together associatively by a sonic game of tag. We begin by tossing a ball up very high, watching it almost disappear, and then as it gains momentum, lands down again in one’s hand. The tossing turns to kicking which turns into dancing. The tossing/catching ultimately returns and subtly transforms to the sound of feet walking. I thought of how the act of walking is a complex yet beautiful process of many muscles, bones, ligaments and neurons all working perfectly together to help us move forward.
At its emotional heart, Chamber Concerto is a personal contemplation on the idea of America, and how pain and comedy, deep thought and play can be juxtaposed in daily life. At the end, the work tenuously quotes the traditional tune, “America,” over a texture that evokes the quiet un-pitched sounds of walking. It reprises this texture from my composition, Missing Words IV, that responds to Ben Schott’s invented German word, “Erkenntnisspaziergang” – defined as a walk taken for the purpose of deep contemplation. If you listen very intently, you may also hear the tune of “America” submerged deep within the chorale that opens the work, not yet fully heard or realized.
Chamber Concerto was commissioned by the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, David Dzubay, Director, and was made possible by a grant from the Fromm Music Foundation. It is dedicated to Claude Baker upon his retirement from Indiana University.