The Near Beyond (2005)
The Near Beyond, for clarinet, violin, viola, and cello, was composed during the Fall of 2005 (at the request of Laurie San Martin and Yu-Hui Chang) for Peter Josheff and Empyrean Ensemble. It’s dedicated to the memory of Lois Jones, an early and fervent supporter of Empyrean Ensemble, a friend of modern art of all kinds, and a warm and wonderful human being. Although there are some expressive moments, particularly near the end, The Near Beyond is not of an elegiac character.
--Ross Bauer
Performance by the Empyrean Ensemble,
Peter Josheff, clarinet, Hrabba Atladottir, violin, Ellen Ruth Rose, viola, Thalia Moore, cello,
Studio Theater, Mondavi Center, Davis, CA, January 22, 2012
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As Imperceptibly as Grief, Song 5 from The Waters Wrecked the Sky (2011)
"The Waters Wrecked the Sky,” a song cycle for soprano and piano on five poems of Emily Dickinson, was composed during the summer of 2011. It was written for and is dedicated to Sarah Pelletier and Lois Shapiro. As with all of Dickinson's work, these poems are very musical -- both in the sound of their language, and in their construction. The poems I’ve chosen are linked by their nature/tree imagery, their clarity and concision, and their sometimes quiet, sometimes overt expression of ecstasy.
"As imperceptibly as Grief" is the fifth and final song of the cycle.
--Ross Bauer
Performance by Sarah Pelletier, soprano and Lois Shapiro, piano,
Campbell Recital Hall, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, February 1, 2012
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Pas de Deux (2009)
for viola and cello.
Pas de Deux, written for and dedicated to Tawnya Popoff and
Caroline Stinson, is about the interaction of three distinct and
continually developing musical characters. The character that gets
the least stage time during the piece, consisting of soft furtive
legato gestures in the mid-low register, begins and, rather
suddenly, ends the piece..
--Ross Bauer
Premiere by Tawnya Popoff, viola and Caroline Stinson, cello.
Church of the Heavenly Rest, New York, October 31, 2010
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Tathata (2007)
Commissioned by the Athabasca String Trio.
Tathata for string trio was composed during the summer of 2007. It was written for and is dedicated to the Athabasca String Trio who premiered it in October of 2007 at the Tenri Cultural Institute in New York. The title, from the Pali language, means suchness -- a way of experiencing reality without the barrier of language and concepts. In one movement of about eleven minutes, Tathata, falls into three large sections, the first beginning with a viola solo accompanied by a tolling A in the violin and cello. This soon grows into three-part counterpoint, but the idea of repeated notes proves to be ubiquitous throughout much of the piece.The middle section, marked Tranquillo, features a long melody in the violin. Near it's end, the music moves to its highest register to lead into the final section marked Con Moto. Featuring the most varied, continuous, and dramatic music of the piece, this section builds inexorably, finally leading to a version of the viola's opening tune, now played in three part unison. The final measures of the piece, again featuring the repeated A, now over a sustained F# in the violin, quietly dissolve into silence.
--Ross Bauer
Performance by the Albers Trio, Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center, U.C. Davis, CA, January 16, 2010
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