Description
Performed by: Chase Jordan (solo viola) with the University of Wyoming Chamber Orchestra; Beth Vanderborgh Conducting
at the University of Wyoming Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts, Laramie, WY, USA; February 2020
2nd movement, “Talus Dance”:
Perusal Score (2nd movement only):
01 - Full score - Dinwoody ConcertoInstrumentation:
Solo Viola
Chamber Orchestra: 1111-2100-2perc-hp-strings(min. 4.4.4.2)
Performance Notes:
This work is inspired by the retreat of the Dinwoody-Gannet Glacier Complex in Wyoming’s Wind River Mountain Range. Most of the musical materials were formulated while I was in the mountains, attempting a summit of Wyoming’s tallest peak in 2016. Each movement paints a picture of different parts of a dying glacier; the first movement has slowly changing suspended harmonies that gradually grow into a soft and warm, but dark and mournful soundscape. The second movement is a somewhat off kilter dance that represents climbing and “dancing” through the large boulders (talus) that lay at the foot of the glacier. The third movement is an accompanied candenza, with a conversation between offstage trumpet and solo viola occurring overtop of a murmering, aleatoric texture that gradually moves to the surface, as the melting glacier begins to melt away. The fourth movement is a loud and fast movement representing sudden shifts and cracking of the glacier as it begins to implode.
This concerto is incomplete. If you are interested in commissioning the rest or a portion of the concerto, please contact the composer.
