Episodes

for flute/picc, horn, violin, cello, piano, percussion
(2002 - 03)

Recorded excerpts of some movements of Episodes can be heard at these links:
I — II — III — IV

This piece was conceived as music to accompany six episodes of an imaginary drama. Though I often took inspiration from simple life experiences, the dramatic working-out of the episodes is based more on fantasy than on reality. The scene of each episode is set by an instrumental color, action, mood, or theme which is then worked-out musically and dramatically. A brief description of each scene is listed below:

I - Still in the Summer
This is a very hot and still summer afternoon in the American Midwest. There is nobody around and there is nothing to do. The air is still, the spaces are large and so little is happening that, as I've heard said of the Ohio countryside, you can hear the corn grow.

II - Ghost in the Graveyard
A game I recall playing as a young boy was called Ghost in the Graveyard. The game involved hiding and chasing after dark and it created much excitement and suspense in our youthful minds.

III - The Unattainable
As is often true for people, the passions of this movement are stirred by the conflict between a perceived ideal and the reality of its impossibility.

IV - Lonely With the Crowd
Like a melancholy individual who is drifting through a lively chattering crowd, this episode places a slow lyrical melody over busy scrambling instrumental conversations.

V - Tragedy in Silence
There are many types of silence and not all are peaceful. This is a particularly restless episode that is slow and quiet without being peaceful.

VI - The Settling of Night
This episode describes both a nocturnal scene and the workings of a mind that is drifting calmly towards sleep. Outside all is still, empty and dark, while fragments of memory slowly shuffle through the imagination as it prepares for the nightly drama of sleep.

(performance duration for six Episodes ca. 19 minutes)

Required Percussion Instruments
medium (or large) suspended cymbal
2 maracas (one is played by the hornist)
5 roto-toms
3 tom-toms
vibraphone