Quintessence
Ariel Woodwind Quintet: Clare Nielsen, flute, Emily Gaberman, oboe, Rebecca Leonard, clarinet, Jonathan MacGowan, bassoon, and Ellen Donohue-Saltman, horn, September 29, 1994, Jordan Hall, Boston
St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble: Elizabeth Mann, flute, Melanie Feld, oboe, William Blount, clarinet, Marc Goldberg, bassoon, William Purvis, French horn, March 26, 1997, Dia Center, New York City
Quintessence consists of three movements: Prelude and Fugue, Double Variation, and Scherzo. The Prelude dramatizes each instrument as an individual and the Fugue emphasizes their similarity. In the second movement, Double Variation, there are two themes that each have the same harmony. The first theme is original. The second theme is called “Idumea” (pronounced I–doo´–ma) and is a nineteenth-century hymn whose first line of text is “And am I born to die?” The Scherzo is a jazzy finale with a trio that parodies the second movement’s Idumea melody. The work was completed in January of 1993 and was first introduced by the Ariel Quintet in Boston. Quintessence was commissioned by Dr. Martin Frank, a Pennsylvania cardiologist and amateur clarinetist.
Quintessence received its New York premiere by the St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra Ensemble in March 1997.
More Chamber Music Works
String Quartet no. 4, Epiphany, Opus 196 1
Clearing the Clouds from Our Minds, Opus 157 3
Serenade No. 4, Walk That Lonesome Valley, Opus 112 9
Serenade No. 2 for alto recorder, cello, and harpsichord, Opus 98 12
Poems for Trumpet and Piano, Opus 85 14
Two Encores: 1, Canon; 2, Lament, Opus 78 no. 2 16
Two Encores: 1, Canon; 2, Lament, Opus 78 No. 1 17
Harmonium: Eight Poems for Brass Quintet after Wallace Stevens, Opus 48 23
Mahler in Blue Light, Opus 43 24
Four Pieces in Familiar Style, Opus 41 25
What Goes Around Comes Around, Opus 38 26
Concerto for Oboe and Five Instruments, Opus 32 28
The Book of Moonlight, Opus 31 29
“Sleep Song” a children’s piece for violin and piano, Opus 18 31
Fantasia on an Imaginary Hymn, Opus 17 32
String Quartet No. 2, Opus 16 33
String Quartet No. 1, Opus 6 34