Expanse
Christopher Gainey
About this work:
I am not from the Midwest, having spent most of my life within sight of either mountains or tall buildings, but I spent five years in Iowa, the left ventricle of America's heartland. Expanse (2011) is a sonic meditation on the archetypal Midwestern landscape: the "PRAIRIE" (The emphasis is mine). There is nothing that could have prepared me for the visual impact of a landscape so overwhelmingly vast. The prairie, its rolling contours of grassland stretching to the horizon without the visual relief of discernible edges, is a natural expression of the infinite, a change in perspective that author and Minnesota native Bill Holm has referred to as "horizontal grandeur." This piece is dedicated, with my sincere thanks, to Brad Sherman who has done the lion's share of the work in setting up this concert.
Version: fl., cl., vln., vla., mar., pno.
Year composed: 2011
Duration: 00:11:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 6-9 players
Instrumentation: 1 Flute, 1 Clarinet, 1 Marimba, 1 Piano, 1 Violin, 1 Viola
Instrumentation notes: Please feel free to contact the composer at cgainey77@gmail.com for a version of this piece that replaces the flute and clarinet with oboe and bassoon.