Waves and Fountains
Pamela J. Marshall
About this work:
This expressive one-movement piece, commissioned by Trio Arundel in Delaware, is filled with images of moving water. Its germinal idea had its origin in the magic fountain music of Marshall's opera Melete's Quest. In the cascading lines that follow a rushing, upward scale, the music flows both up and down, crossing as waves from different directions amplify each other. The water imagery gives a flowing consistency to the piece, even as the textures and mood change.
The music is sometimes rhythmically complex with the goal of creating expressive phrases without a strict pulse. Note groups of 3 and 5 create a notated rubato for semi-independent melodies that remain coordinated so that larger phrases evolve together.
Commissioned and premiered by Trio Arundel in Delaware.
Available from Spindrift Music Company (www.spindrift.com)
Year composed: 1997
Duration: 00:08:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 1 Oboe, 1 Horn in F, 1 Piano