Breath (2021)
A clarinet, alto saxophone, C trumpet
c. 3 minutes
Commissioned by Hypotenuse Trio for winning their 2020 Call for Scores
Premiered by Hypotenuse Trio
Facebook livestream, 1 May 2021
c. 3 minutes
Commissioned by Hypotenuse Trio for winning their 2020 Call for Scores
Premiered by Hypotenuse Trio
Facebook livestream, 1 May 2021
Over the past year, I have been contemplating the concept of breath and the various roles it has played in 2020. Breath (2021) reflects on these roles. The piece begins with frantic, rapid scalar passages. As these scales fly out of control, the sense of pitch gradually decays, and the performers are left blowing only air through their instruments. Even the air sounds eventually fade, and only the clicking sounds of the instruments remain. After a pause, the performers reenter with little melodic fragments that gently curl upward. The trio joins in a final, serene melody, as if taking one collective sigh of relief together.