New Music USA Online Library

Sea Change

Stephen Cohn

Sea Change employs the instrumental forces which have come to known as the Pierrot Ensemble as initiated by Arnold Schoenberg when he premiered Pierrot Lunaire in 1912. Since the ensemble contains winds and strings and a percussion instrument, the sonorities it produces often have an orchestral flavor.

Instead of using sections of contrasting tempo and mood as a structural device, the work is primarily structured with a relentless forward-moving energy. Surprise and shock cuts often replace traditional transitions. It has an explosive through line which is a primary unifying factor. The work explores rapidly changing harmonic fields expressed in different levels of rhythmic activity. For example, at letter A, the winds and strings play a rapidly changing harmonic palette with repeated notes while the piano adds another layer of rhythm and melody by punctuating only the changing harmonies. Another section of the work utilizes the piano and strings playing accented punctuated chords as a counterpoint to the flute and clarinet in their interplay which is a melodic chase with some overlap. The strings in this section depart from their chordal accompaniment at times to double or color the winds. The work uses a number of unusual rhythmic devices. As an example, the ending sections of the work employ a unison or octave-doubled melody with an 11/8 time signature. The first ten beats are divided in pairs with each pair represented by an eighth note triplet with beat eleven being a final eighth note. The energy of this section is that of a primal chant in which all instruments eventually partake.

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