Music Finland Core

* Title

Additional title

Description

<p>The piano trio is one of the most classical (and classicist) ensembles in Western music, the chamber music form par excellence of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms, a repertoire so weighty that I find the Germanic model – melody, bass and accompaniment, counterpoint and development – often looms over the trios of even the least Teutonic composers. Beautiful as this music is, I found it difficult to relate it to my own aesthetic, so I strove in taking on the form to at least attempt divergence from the archetype, through textures in which the instruments are less hierarchically ordered. The two string instruments rarely feature in any kind of dominant melodic role, rather acting together as extensions of the piano’s resonant impetus, with all three frequently sounding together as a single gesture, like a brushstroke of blurred colors.</p><p>The title is in some ways just a chain of words I’ve had in my head for many years, suggesting upper-register music with little bass support and fragile, wispy thoughts – music hovering on a hazy boundary, perpetually on the verge of becoming. It also refers to the journey the piece undergoes, moving from an initial state of harmonic and gestural volatility through obsessive reiteration toward stillness, calm and reflection, closely paralleling the protracted process of writing it. The material only gradually condenses into linear thought after an extended, musing opening. While it does occasionally force a clangorous statement, the piece overall does not strive for direction or conclusiveness, but rather opens outward ambiguously, seeking transition into open space, as if the material were trying to escape itself. A reference to the classical lineage of the ensemble surfaces at one point like a memory, a distorted passage from one of the dedicatee ensemble’s repertoire works that I once heard them describe as “angel music” – a connection to sky and infinity I found too neat to ignore.</p>

Year of composing

Arranger

Movements

Availability

Abbreviation	Instrument
Woodwind
acl	alto clarinet
afl	alto flute
arec	alto recorder
asax	alto saxophone
barsax	baritone saxophone
barhn	baritone horn
bcl	bass clarinet
bfl	bass flute
bob	bass oboe
bsax	bass saxophone
bsn	bassoon
cbsn	contrabassoon
cl	clarinet
ehn	English horn
fl	flute
hn	French horn
ob	oboe
pic	piccolo
rec	recorder
sax	saxophone
srec	soprano recorder
ssax	soprano saxophone
trec	tenor recorder
tsax	tenor saxophone
Brass
ahn	alto horn
atrb	altotrombone
barhn	baritone horn
btrb	bass trombone
cornet	cornet
euph	euphonium
fhn	flugelhorn
hn	French horn
tba	tuuba
thn	tenor horn
trb	trombone
trp	trumpet
Percussion
dr	drums
glock	glockenspiel
mar	marimba
perc	percussion
timp	timpani
vibr	vibraphone
xyl	xylophone
Strings
db	double bass
gamba	viola da gamba
str	strings
vla	viola
vlc	cello
vln	violin
Other
acc	accordion
cel	celesta
cemb	harpsichord
chords	chords
elbas	electric bass
elg	electric guitar
elorg	electric organ
elpno	electric piano
guit	guitar
harm	harmonium
hca	harmonica
hp	harp
instr	instrument
kantele	kantele
keyb	keyboard
live electr	live electronics
mand	mandolin
mel	melody
org	organ
pno	piano
synth	synthesizer
tape	tape
Vocal
alto	alto
baryt	baritone
basso	bass voice
ch	choir
chc	childrens choir
chf	female choir
chm	male choir
chx	mixed choir
cten	countertenor
mezzo	mezzo-soprano
sopr	soprano
speaker	speaker
ten	tenor
voc	vocal

Symphony orchestra
2222 4331 11 1, str = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, one other percussionist, harp and strings
Wind band
2252 3 423 21212 3 = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 5 clarinets, 2 bassoons - 3 saxophones - 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones - 2 cornets, alto horn, 2 tenor horns, baritone horn, 2 tubas - 3 percussionists
Big band
221 4 4, pno, guit, db, dr = 2 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, guitar, double bass, drums
Additional codes
+	fl+pic = flutist doubles on piccolo
/	pno/org = can be played on either piano or organ
lib	ad libitum
obl	obligato
str	str: 65432 = specified number of string players
str min	str min: 65432 = at least 65432
str max	str max: 65432 = not more than 65432
solo	vln solo = violin is the solo instrument in a work not obviously for solo violin

where rain ends… …begins the sky