Dedicated to Ursa Ensemble Winner of the Kleinman Composition Competition
Duration: ca. 9 min.
Ob, Cl, Vln, Vla, Db
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Program Notes:
Petite Counterpoint is a set of five miniatures that explore different varieties of counterpoint and expression. While writing the piece, two main factors remained prevalent throughout. One was my extensive studying of Luigi Dallapiccola’s piano piece Cuaderno Musicale Di Annalibera, and the other was this idea of “lyricism.” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the term means: “A quality that expresses deep feelings or emotions in a work of art.” This idea can be found frequently throughout the piece and factors heavily into the writing while utilizing many different forms of counterpoint.
The first miniature is reminiscent of plainchant and slowly unfolds as a lyrical line is stated in the clarinet. The second utilizes two different canonic techniques: mensural and inverted. The beginning line introduced in the viola is passed around in the other voices and as it is developed and shortened over time, it eventually becomes just a gesture that dissipates into thin air. The third starts very rhythmically and a fragmented line begins to form over time until it is intensely stated in the clarinet while the ensemble devolves into chaos. The fourth is a quaint crab canon, which is as an arrangement of two musical lines that are complementary and backward, similar to a palindrome, with a focus on color in the ensemble. Finally, the last miniature begins with a diatonic, albeit eerie artificial harmonic solo in the viola, accompanied by atonal chords in the rest of the ensemble. This eventually is passed onto the oboe, which then moves with the ensemble to end the piece quietly, but with a sense of uneasiness. (Funny enough, this melody in the last miniature is taken from a Dallapiccola sonatina for piano, who took it from a Paganini Caprice.)