ELAN! A DANCE TO ALL RISING THINGS FROM THE EARTH
Priscilla McLean
About this work:
With a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Composer Grant, Priscilla McLean wrote this work for five-six instruments for the American Deaf Dance Company in Austin, Texas. This performance never happened, and the premiere was given by the Syracuse Society for New Music in 1989. The music is whimsical and joyously quirky, with high flutterings and tinkling chords (birds), along with the heavy groaning and heaving of the plants stretching upwards ('cello, percussion) in the Spring. This is one of the few non-electronic chamber pieces written by McLean, but it has a similar twist to the musical sounds.
This version has just been written (only implied in the 5-performer score), and as such has not been performed. Please listen to the Syracuse New Music Ensemble's performance of the five instrument work for a good idea on how this work sounds, listed here as "Five Performer Version".
Version: Six Performers
Year composed: 1980
Duration: 00:14:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice
Instrumentation:
Instrumentation notes: flute, violin, violoncello, piano, percussion, auxiliary percussion