Small Ensemble / 8′ / Difficulty: Medium / 2022
Riverbend on the Charles is about love and how sometimes it is distant and hard to maintain. A simple repetitive motif in the piano is the constant reminder of distance, while underneath swirls layers of emotions and feelings one has as they ebb and flow, grow with excitement, and diminish with fear in the rest of the instrumentation. A juxtaposition is brought about, the feeling of being close – and yet, simultaneously, far away through specific harmonic decisions throughout the work. The middle section features a different chord progression entirely from the beginning and end, further developing the idea of distance and instability with borrowed minor chords.
Instrumentation
- 3 Percussionists
- Player 1: Crotales
- Player 2: Finger Cymbals, Wind Chimes
- Player 3: Suspended Cymbal
- Acoustic Guitar
- Piano
- 8 Vocalists (minimum, SSAATTBB)
- Solo violincello