Dances of Peril
For clarinet in Bb, violin and cello (2020)
Length: 13 minutes
This performance (movements 1 and 2):
Exponential Ensemble
Pascal Archer, clarinet
Suliman Tekalli, violin
Sofia Nowik, cello
About the piece
Dances of Peril is based on three old sketches. Although they were written in different times and greatly differed in context and instrumentation, the three had a few things in common: they were all fast, energetic, and unsettling. I decided to join them together, revising them considerably and reimagining them as three peculiar dances in a small, mysterious party. While dance is often an act of joy and love, these dances are not. Scored for clarinet, violin, and cello, these dances involve three dancers; the relationships among them are unclear. Their movements are fast, sharp; at times, aggressive. The looks on their eyes convey suspicion. Each of them knows that something bad is about to happen, but they have to play the game. Like a good “whodunit” thriller, it is unclear who the source of danger is. And this uncertainly enhances the fear and pushes each dancer to move faster, to seize control, to deceive. Who knows how this will end.
