I composed Aeternum on a whim during the late summer of 2018, not following the usual process of request or commission, but responding to a call for scores from the Chamber Music Society of Ohio. It was the instrumentation suggested that caught my imagination: the combination of flute, oboe, horn, cello, and piano was so extraordinary that it required deeper thought. And while partial use of this group was certainly permitted, my mind was already busy constructing a piece for the whole; before I new it I had improvised most of what was to become the final product.
The work begins with a duet between horn and cello, accompanied by a 5/8 ostinato in the piano, which builds to a sudden pianissimo and the appearance of a fragmented melody in the flute. The continuing ostinato takes a different turn with the introduction of the oboe, before the cello suggests a menacing trio with the low flute and piano scales in fourths. These fourths then takes control with counterpoint of increasing tension, leading to the brightness of major chords and a modified recapitulation. A final build-up of tension is released with the nobility of B-flat major and instruments stretched to their limits.
Aeternum takes the listener along long roads stretching out to endless horizons, visiting multiple landscapes, and traversing distant paths ominous and mysterious, with each eternal roadway opening up a new vista of color and possibilities. The piece searches for eternity with wheels continually turning, on a long journey of forgotten memories and fantastical imaginings, reaching the brilliant beauty of amazing bright light, and eventually becoming radiant sunshine.
The work begins with a duet between horn and cello, accompanied by a 5/8 ostinato in the piano, which builds to a sudden pianissimo and the appearance of a fragmented melody in the flute. The continuing ostinato takes a different turn with the introduction of the oboe, before the cello suggests a menacing trio with the low flute and piano scales in fourths. These fourths then takes control with counterpoint of increasing tension, leading to the brightness of major chords and a modified recapitulation. A final build-up of tension is released with the nobility of B-flat major and instruments stretched to their limits.
Aeternum takes the listener along long roads stretching out to endless horizons, visiting multiple landscapes, and traversing distant paths ominous and mysterious, with each eternal roadway opening up a new vista of color and possibilities. The piece searches for eternity with wheels continually turning, on a long journey of forgotten memories and fantastical imaginings, reaching the brilliant beauty of amazing bright light, and eventually becoming radiant sunshine.
with Jane Berkner, Jack Cozen Harel, David Brockett, Miles Richardson, and Eric Charnofsky at the premiere on 17 February 2019
