Theme and Variations for Piano, Opus 27
Judith Cody
About this work:
Program notes:
Five passages introduce various moods and textures from playful and minimalist, funereal and
staid, graceful and sparse, melancholic and ponderous, to exotic and complex evocative of
Charles Ives at certain moments. The work is constructed almost mathematically around
two-note chords of one or one-half interval.The first passage (marked allegro) deals with an
E-F chord repeated in an ascending and descending dynamic cycle against a counter bass theme.
In passage No.2 (marked largo) the F-note is sharped and the chord is used in a strict Grave rhythm.
In No. 3, the E-F chord shifts to the bass and is almost lost amid a single, animated
treble voice. Other two-note chords are introduced in no.4, imparting a heavier, controlled
texture while the single voice is moved to the bass again.
No. 5, Coda, inverts the process
several times and brings in a new system of timbres where both bass and treble are equally
balanced. This last system is marked tranquillo and concludes the piece.
Copyright 2003, Judith Cody, all rights reserved
Version: solo piano
Year composed: 1978
Duration: 00:08:10
Ensemble type: Keyboard:Piano
Instrumentation: 1 Piano