Meetings
Faye-Ellen1 Silverman
About this work:
Commissioned by the IWBC for Junction
Dedicated to Junction
The title “Meetings” refers both to the name of the group for whom this was written (Junction) and to the fact that the group is made up of four virtuoso players who come together to perform. (According to the Webster’s Dictionary, “junction” is “a place where things meet or cross”.) Thus the parts occasionally cross each other - in keeping with the title. The players also finish each other’s thoughts. The work is in three short movements – Introductions, Joint Ventures, and Farewells.
The first movement starts with the individual instruments spelling out the chord Bb Db F A. Part of the chord returns at the end of this movement. The chord also appears at the beginning, within, and at the end of the third movement. In the first movement, there is interplay of textures and melodies as the instruments drift apart and come together at increasingly faster tempos. In the second movement, the two euphoniums and the two tubas join together to sound like a modern, harmonized chorale. The last movement starts with the instrumentalists playing in unison – sometimes two performers, sometimes three, and occasionally all four. Over time, the sixteenth note figuration becomes background to a melodic line that emerges. The sixteenth notes slow to include triplets, then eighth notes. The work ends as it began, with the instruments spelling out the opening chord one at a time.
Year composed: 2003
Duration: 00:09:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 2 Tuba, 2 Euphonium/Tenor Tuba