Rodney Sharman,
Dry Leaves, (2005) for 11 instruments (2 trumpets in Bb, 2 trombones,
piano, percussion, 2 violins, viola, ’cello, doublebass)
Chamber music is often a forum for a composer’s more intimate concerns.
In this work, I go more deeply into a lifelong preoccupation with instrumental
colour, specifically the blurring of artificial distinctions between harmony
and timbre. The title, Dry Leaves, refers to this
kind of timbral and harmonic mirage, as can be heard most obviously in the rustling
sounds of strings and percussion which open the piece. The work also reflects
my recent interest in the music of Franz Schubert. The title evokes his famous
song, Dry Flowers, and the virtuoso set of variations for flute and
piano built upon the work. There are neither quotations of Schubert’s music,
nor parodies his musical vocabulary or style. The piece, though, does offer
distorted reflections of the composer’s harmonic and formal moves.
Dry Leaves (2005), was commissioned by Vancouver New
Music through the generosity of the Canada Council Music Commissioning Program.
The piece is dedicated to VNM’s Artistic Director, Giorgio Magnanensi.
My special thanks, too, to the Gaudeamus Foundation, Amsterdam, and to Barbara
Ebbeson of Gabriola Island, B.C., for providing studio space during the composition
of this piece.
- Rodney Sharman
INSTRUMENTATION: 2 trumpets in Bb, 2 trombones, piano, 1 percussion (marimba, cabassa, 2 medium gongs, low tam-tam, bass drum), 2 violins, viola, ’cello, doublebass
YEAR OR COMPOSITION: 2005
DURATION: 8 minutes, 30 seconds
PREMIERE: Jan 22, 2005, Vancouver Playhouse, Vancouver