Post Winter Solstice
For flute (doubles piccolo), bass clarinet, violin and cello (2022)
Length: 9 minutes
This performance:
Exponential Ensemble
Anna Urrey, flute/piccolo
Pascal Archer, bass clarinet
Ruben Rengel, violin
Sofia Nowik, cello
About the piece
The winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight of the year. After the solstice, days gradually get more and more time of light. Post Winter Solstice draws an emotional equivalent to this natural process. It features two themes: one is a long, winding, gloomy melody; and the second is an ascending passage of 9 notes that repeats, but each time it is one note shorter, until it consists of merely two notes. The two themes alternate throughout the piece, each time played by a different instrument and in a different key. While most of the piece is dark and melancholic, it ends on a slightly brighter tone, thus reflecting the notion of “post winter solstice.”
