Work in Progress: Clarinet and Piano piece

Perspective 2 for Clarinet and Piano

My Perspective 2 (working title)  for clarinet and piano, has seen several reiterations: sparse and gentle, strident and boisterous, minimalist, to name a few. I’d finally settled on a series of preludes ( variations?.)These preludes seemed to unfold from one to the next serendipitously. As things turned out, I wound up reworking a few of the discarded earlier starts.

At the beginning of the piece, the segments are in stark contrast to one another: fast,slow,fast etcetera. The work begins with quick, configurations in  the clarinet.This is followed by very slow repeated clarinet pitches.

If I were to sum up each and every  prelude in a few words, it would look like this:

  1. Hastened, with clustered harmonies
  2. Uneven pulse, sustained
  3. Manic, rapid
  4. Slow, sorrowful
  5. Crafty, elusive
  6. Sustained, sorrowful mashup
  7. Serpentine dialogue
  8. Serpentine, falling gestures.

As things stand, the piece is nearing it’s completion.I foresee being done in 2 or three more preludes.

Here is what the opening looks like: