ensemble clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), string quartet, percussion, and piano
duration 10 minutes
written summer 2010
commissioned by Ensemble ACJW
premièred October 9, 2010, Saratoga Springs, NY
published by ↪ Project Schott New York

Chaccones and passacaglias have always been some of my favorite things to write. As a listener and a composer, I love the security that comes from being supported by a predictable bass line, and just as much, the feeling of real, physical change evoked by a departure from that bass line.

Trade Winds is a chaccone surrounded by two bookends: a big, busy introduction and a short, hesitant coda. The meat of the piece, though, is the exchange of long, vocal lines passed back and forth between the instruments over repeating harmonies, leading to the obligatory ground-shifting moment.

Listen

Short video I filmed in rehearsal. Stay tuned for a complete recording.

Pictures

Mike Zell's inventive percussion setup. Note proper use of moleskin.