Call from Beyond the Waves

Program Notes

Call from Beyond the Waves is a piece in the style of an old sea shanty.  It invokes feelings of being lost at sea and drifting along the waves in the ocean far from shore.  The melody lines are somewhat uneven but feel natural as if they are being sung in the late hours of the night.  Rising and falling passages in the background reflect the waves on these moonlit nights. 

This piece was commissioned by a wonderful colleague of mine Tim Chernobrov.  He wanted something that would capture the unique sound of the low harmony clarinets and make them shine in their own light.  In doing so, he hopes to spark more interest in these less common clarinets. 

Instrumentation

Low clarinet quartet consisting of -
Alto Clarinet
Bass Clarinet
Contra Alto Clarinet
Contrabass Clarinet

Version for Flutes

In addition to the original, there is also a version arranged for the low harmony flutes.

Low flute quartet consisting of -
Alto Flute
Bass Flute
Contra Alto Flute
Contrabass Flute