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This
music is dedicated to Boston Symphony cellist Luis
Leguia. He played the premiere on his Luis & Clark
carbon-fiber cello (for information on his cello,
visit the Luis & Clark site).
Duration approx 5'30
The
composer writes:
I was asked to write a piece
in the mood of a berceuse or lullaby, but what came
to mind was not the rocking rhythms that cradle us
in sleep, but the wandering mind that defeats our
attempts to let go of the day and find sleep. Sometimes
the events of the day are just too interesting and
we can’t let go! I also find something obsessional
in the rhythms and pacing of the mind’s wanderings
among my available thoughts.
The piece begins with a descending major 6th. Although
a beautiful and relaxing sonority, it returns insistently
in both the piano and cello part and is the core
motive of variations of the music. The piece makes
a slow climb from the opening sections centered around
C#; through a darker, heavier episode in D minor;
finally rising to end in a tuneful section in a modal
D#. For me, this upward direction represents letting
go to float in the peace of sleep.
In the final section,
the cello plays a more contented and serene melody.
The cello is again accompanied by lots of 6ths, but
now they are delicate and gentle, in the tempo of
a dream, rather than full of waking, erratic thoughts.
Sleep may be elusive but we do—we must—find
it in the end.
Pianist Karen
Sauer, who attended the premiere, had these comments:
"I
thought the piece was wonderful, really lyrical
and graceful. They [Luis Leguia and Carmen Rodriguez-Peralta]
played it beautifully and looked like they really
enjoyed doing it."
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