We Will Become Like Clouds
Steffan Brunette
Ensemble: Wind Ensemble
Solo Instrument: Clarinet
Grade: 3
Duration: 05:30
Year of Composition: 2015
Premiered by: Middlefield C.I. Senior Wind Ensemble (Brian Wong, clarinet; Steffan Brunette, conductor)
Date of Premiere: May, 2016
Publisher: self-published
Available: Yes
How to Acquire: Composer
Links:
Solo B♭ Clarinet
Flutes 1,2
Oboe
B♭ Clarinets 1,2,3
B♭ Bass Clarinet
E♭ Alto Saxes 1,2
B♭ Tenor Sax
E♭ Baritone Sax
B♭ Trumpets 1,2,3
F Horn
Trombones 1,2,3
Euphonium
Tuba
6 Percussion
Score and parts available from the composer at no charge. Solo part is approximately concert band Grade 4.
Program Notes:
This is the eighth “junior” concerto written for the senior ensemble at MCI. Approximately four years before, soloist Brian Wong’s mother had passed away, and since music was an important part of Brian’s expressive talents, it was decided to write a lyrical piece that could he could perform as a memorial for her. The title came about as a thought of how, like clouds, memories of lost loved ones can seem at the same time both vivid and insubstantial. No matter how much one may wish to grab a handful of cloud, it is an impossible task; the same can be said for trying to relive memories.
A poem-in-concept was written to attempt to reflect this sentiment:
An insubstantial shadow against an endless sky
Timeless water, elevated,
Guided by winds in cumulus consolation,
Shaped by memories.
Amid thunderclaps and flashes of grief,
Casting down rain that darkens the world,
Summoning fog that obscures the forward path,
In this eternal cycle when I can return,
Shared by memories.
Moved by time and ceaseless winds,
We rise; dew lifts from refreshed leaf,
Pulled upwards into crystalline perfection.
We will all become like clouds
And sail closer to the sun.
Inspiration for the form and style of this music came from Steven Bryant’s Dusk and Samuel Hazo’s works Voices of the Sky and In Heaven’s Air. It was an attempt to create a lyrical work of some emotional value.
(Steffan Brunette)
