Landscapes
Michael Hopkins
About this work:
The inspiration for this piece came from a long summer drive through Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Intense, beautiful, barren, remote, dry, peaceful, bizarre – these are all descriptors that came to mind as we crossed the natural landscapes of these western states. In the first section of the piece, I tried to capture the intensity and unpredictable variety of the northern Nevada landscape passing by at 70 miles per hour. Strings use special effects like col legno, glissando, artificial harmonics, alternating arco and pizzicato, while the bass clarinet plays rapid arpeggios up and down based on an exotic scale. The second section captures the beautiful, peaceful, and remote feelings of the Arches region in Utah. The rhythms in the music become slower, and dissonances resolve into open quintal harmonies. The final section tries to capture the barren, dry, and sometimes bizarre landscape in southern Wyoming. Asymetrical rhythmic ostinato figures develop. Special effects return in the strings. The violin and viola play a high, intertwined melodic figure. Things that are seen here are reminiscent of the first and second sections.
Year composed: 2004
Duration: 00:12:39
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 1 Bass Clarinet, 1 Violin, 1 Viola, 1 Cello