DESCRIPTION:
Midori Koga, piano
Kimberly Luevano, clarinet
Carolyn Stuart, violin

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Thorn and Flare (2009) draws to some extent from Albanian traditional instrumental music, specifically the semi-improvisational music called Kaba, or “music with tears.” I traveled to Albania in 1995; my trip around the south of the country was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, full of encounters with wonderful people, beautiful landscapes, and breathtaking music. This piece seeks an uncomfortable synthesis between Albanian-inspired musical elements and some of the harmonic vocabulary of Western late-Romantic period chromaticism. The music leads into and out of strong feelings, through nearby spaces that mitigate the dark mood, finding the edges between sorrow and tenderness, between rage and charged excitement.

I: Thorn: Pierced by longing; turning, stricken with that sadthorn ache, reaching toward something that will not be. Cast out by desire, but caught in the pull of its waters, worrying the hurt as if sinking into currents of yearning were the only way to reach those dark pools of tender melancholy at the edge of the shallows.

II: Flare: A flash: burning with sudden bitterness that winds tight around itself, wearing down grooves, deeper and deeper in frustrated circles. An agitated thrill in fanning the flames of blind anger that ends up tearing at the air, finally snapping off in brittle fury.