Description
Audio
Duration
15 min.
Instrumentation
Solo Violin, Flute, Clarinet in Bb, Horn in F, Trumpet in C, Trombone, Piano, Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello & Bass
Program Notes
Unseen in air was composed soon after the death of my father, a period of grief that has resonated with many thoughts of the meaning of ‘unseen.’ We always measure the substance of the invisible through our emotions or feelings. Music is unseen and yet it is felt. I believe much of existence itself is unseen, and the great gifts are invisible emotions. Love is the most complex and remarkable. It is the force binding us all together. This work is my tribute to that ‘unseen,’ and is dedicated to the loving memory of my father.
The solo violin represents a curious seeker of the unseen. It initiates a sense of longing – the desire for knowing. The orchestra is the universe and acts as an amplifier of desire. It also offers revelations that are in fact, variations of the violin’s longing. Perception is blurred; only glimpses of truth are given, revealing greater mysteries. The longing grows more urgent, and transforms itself into a wily, manic, and desperate exchange that ultimately gives way to resigned acceptance. Mystery is unknowable.
The score is in C.
The duration of the work is approximately 15 minutes.
Commissioned by Nancy Brown Negley in memory of her mother Alice Pratt Brown, with additional support from the Pit Stop Players, Joshua Rosenblum, Music Director.
First Performance: Robin Zeh, solo violin and the Pit Stop Players, Joshua Rosenblum, Music Director May 10, 2011 The DiMenna Center, Benzaquen Hall, New York, New York
