Three Moods for Piano (2012)
about
- Frozen
- Forlorn
- Flighty
Three Moods for Solo Piano originally began as experiments with limited musical materials that would allow me to convey a single mood. As the pieces began to develop, I settled on the moods of Frozen, Forlorn, Flighty.
The feeling of being "frozen" is evoked through the use of repeating ostinato-like figures, each time presented with slightly altered rhythms and phrasing. The tonality is based on a 9-note scale: essentially a major/minor scale with two extra half-steps. Each phrase nearly obsesses between these "extra" chromatic notes, as if paralyzed with indecision.
Forlorn began as an experiment with space, both in sound and in physical distance, as the piece starts with the hands close together and ends with them far apart. The music alternates between two textures: one that is static and chordal, and one that is based on gently moving broken chord figures.
Flighty begins with the same indecisive and obsessive mood as Frozen, but instead attempts to break free. Finally the pianist has the chance to move freely on the piano.
instrumentation
Piano
duration
ca. 7 minutes