Persistence (2025)
For clarinet, viola and piano
Commissioned by the Coast Recital Society for the Garibaldi Trio
Duration: 12’20 min
Program note:
This work is written in two movements that serve as contrasting portraits of persistence. The first movement, “Song, in Faded Sepia”, imagines the musical equivalent of a faded photograph: only blurred contours and muted colours of the original theme remain when recalling a forgotten melody from long ago. Small fragments are repeated in varying forms, like multiple attempts to grasp a distant memory. In the second movement, “Overdrive”, the persistence is one of dogged determination, grit and tenacity. With strong percussive attacks and machine-like rhythmic drive, this movement reflects the toil and human effort in a constant pursuit of something perpetually beyond reach.
Many thanks to the Coast Recital Society for commissioning Persistence for the Garibaldi Trio.
(score and parts available soon from the Canadian Music Centre)