The Arc of Winter
John Fitz Rogers
About this work:
It is often said that music can express thoughts and emotions that words and images cannot. Yet I doubt that anything I might ever compose could begin to voice the shock, sadness, and anger we all felt after the events of September 11, 2001. "I wrote The Arc of Winter" as a simple song of grief, at times anguished and choked, at other moments hopeful, even optimistic. The work begins quietly, with the soloist rising about gently weeping strings. As the piece progresses it rises as well, from the lowest range of the instruments to the very highest toward the end of the work. Perhaps this slow ascent is one trajectory of grief, which is also by some measure a personal response to all that collapsed on that terrible day. "The Arc of Winter" was commissioned by the University of South Carolina School of Music in memory of September 11th, and is dedicated to the innocent victims who lost their lives, and to their families and friends who remain.
Version: Solo + chamber strings
Year composed: 2002
Duration: 00:10:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 10+ players
Instrumentation: ,1 Clarinet soloist(s), 9 Strings (General), 4 Violin, 2 Viola,1 Viola soloist(s), 2 Cello, 1 Double bass
Instrumentation notes: For solo clarinet (or optional solo viola) plus 4 violins, 2 violas, 2 celli, 1 contrabass.