Three Perspectives
Composer: Emma Johnson
Catalogue no: QT218
These miniatures were written during the Covid lockdown of 2021. Each sheds a different light on the clarinet.
Clarinet and Piano
1 Echoes
2 Solace
3 Senegal Spirit
Emma Johnson wrote these three pieces during the lockdown of 2020 and each movement "sheds a different light on the clarinet". The opening piece, Echoes, begins with a breath sound on a low F (written as E sharp) and the tone eventually creeps in at pppp. The musical line develops over a whole tone scale with the piano joining after a few bars. This florid introduction leads to a settled 3+3+2 quaver pulse with the piano above and below the floating clarinet line to create a dream-like feel. A calmer central section uses a homophonic chorale section with triplet quavers weaving firstly in the clarinet, then in the bass clef of the piano. 'Solace' contains gentle jazzy harmonies with shifts in modulation, and a warm cantabile melody. As a simple ballade it makes full use of the range of the instrument and the high notes are reached either by wide leaps or fast ascending runs. The darker central section lands on a top G sharp (four ledger lines) and the ever-so-slightly embellished melody draws the movement to a close on two long high Cs above the stave, fading away. Senegal Spirit is playful, improvisatory melody across a repeated two-bar riff with an African-inspired rhythmic ostinato. The 'frenetic' middle section is a whirlwind of chromatic semiquavers rushing up and down, punctuated by off-beat attacks of chords from both players, which is a Senegalese trait, before the original idea returns in a new key. For advanced players these are challenging but absorbing works to play, well composed for the clarinet. My only minor gripe was that some of the spellings were a little confusing to sightread. The whole tone scale in the first movement for example began on an E sharp. I felt I would have read it more intuitively had it started on F. They are good for audiences and with movements between three and a half and four and a half minutes each could be played separately or as a suite.
Stephanie Reeve – Clarinet & Saxophone Magazine (Spring 2024)
Three Perspectives (highlights)
Emma Johnson (Clarinet)
Gregory Dott (Piano)
Queen's Temple Publications was founded in 1995 to make available interesting and useful wind chamber music, such as Sir Malcolm Arnold's important Wind Quintet Op. 2. Since then we have expanded to include music for piano, guitar, choral music and much more. Our publications have been selected by the major examination boards worldwide.
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