Break-Up (1998)
duration 11:00
clarinet, violin, cello, piano, marimba
Commissioned by Continuum Contemporary Music with funding provided by the Canada Council for the Arts
Break-up was conceived during the spring thaw in Inuvik, Northwest Territories and written during the months when the Mackenzie river ice breaks up in large chunks and flows out to the Beaufort sea; the land becomes alive again and summer returns. Although not programmatic, this work portrays my own feelings of the abrupt awakening of the land from the long dormant winter months. Along with new life there is also the return of the midnight sun and the activity of both humans and wildlife to which it brings – although personally I wish that the mosquitoes and black flies would remain dormant! – 2:00am July 2nd, 1998 with the sun shining bright!
Listen to this work performed by Continuum Contemporary Music:
