Clear Sound for Clarinet and Orchestra

Abstract

Clear Sound is the opening movement of a larger three movement concerto for solo clarinet and orchestra being written for clarinetist and conductor Luis Viquez Cordoba. I set out to compose a traditionally structured concerto, utilizing a three movement design, and further modeling each movement in a traditional manner i.e, a Sonata-Allegro first movement, a slow middle movement based around a song-like theme, and a Scherzo final movement in Rondo form. With the opening movement, Clear Sound, I endeavored to fit my own pan-tonal harmonic language, which does not function under the tonic-dominant rules of common practice, into the Sonata-Allegro form, a formal design predicated on harmonic relationships. The piece roughly follows the Exposition-Development-Recapitulation design of classic Sonata-Allegro form, with the addition of two virtuosic cadenzas – the first acting as a large portion of the development section - a searching exploration of the themes that have been presented. The second cadenza acts as a bridge between the end of the recapitulation and a short codetta that rounds out the form.