BlueRedStreaks
CHAMBER

The Woodcarver & The Blacksmith

Copyright: ©2005 Ann Millikan. All Rights Reserved.
Duration: 18:30

Instrumentation: flute (piccolo, alto), clarinet (bass), percussion (crotales, vibraphone), piano, violin, cello

The Woodcarver & The Blacksmith was commissioned by the Jerome Composers Commissioning Program for the California EAR Unit. The work features the cello and flute as two distinct characters, functioning independently from each other. The cello character is forceful and abrupt, rhythmic and virtuosic. It can also be pensive and bittersweet, utilizing a modal quality, and space. The flute character has different personalities on the three instruments. The piccolo in its haunting lower range with very regular rhythms, has an almost rigid quality. When played on the alto, it evokes the breathy attack, and the melancholy and longing quality of the Ney. When played on the C flute, it is characterized by fluidity, with fleeting gestures and long angular lines. The cello and flute characters, with their contrasting and similar qualities, weave in and out of each other like two people in a story simultaneously going through changes, but never meeting. The orchestral texture is constantly shifting as well, at times driving the energy forward, and other times creating stasis – the overall effect being layers of sound, developing on multiple levels at once.

SDPC 240 01 Score $25
SDPC 240 02 Parts $35
 
Available on Innova 663, California EAR Unit
https://www.innova.mu/albums/ann-millikan/music-ann-millikan-featuring-california-ear-unit
Copyright ©2010-21 Ann Millikan. All