Georg Klaas – clarinet, New England String Quartet

III. Insomnia

IV. Orbit

Program notes:

Quintet No.2 reflects on the cyclical, self-replicating aspects of both the physical and psychological domains. In particular, repetitions that are not simply circular, closed, mechanical systems, but those which are asymmetrical or altered with each repetition are explored. While the music within each movement of the quintet is not intended to be a literal depiction of its respective title, the titles do provide some direction for the listener’s imagination as they experience the piece.

A switchback road is characterized by relatively straight spans knit together by sharp curves. Despite the prominent horizontal features of the design, ascending a switchback is really a process ultimately intended to move a person or vehicle in a vertical direction. Thus, while one has the perception of covering the same ground back and forth, they are actually being conveyed upwards towards the summit. Movement one of the quintet functions in a similar manner as the insistent repetition of motives and a continually reconfigured harmonic progression push the opening piece to its final climax.

The second movement, in contrast to the full-textured music of the movement one, is a chain of duets between the members of the quintet. These duets are strung together and relate to one another much in the same way as the islands of an archipelago. Individual islands may contain unique geological features as well as sub-species of plants and animals that distinguish them from one another. At the same time, they often share aspects such as proximity and volcanic origin that bind them together into an elegant system. Similarly, the duets of the second movement share material with one another while maintaining distinct characteristics that define each as a unique stage in the overall dramatic process of the piece.

Fighting insomnia could be described as a cyclical process; a gradual spiral downward to the intended goal of sleep, often interrupted by sudden relapses to a higher state of consciousness before a complete arrival. In a way, it is antithetical to the earlier described ascending switchback design, and to archetypal dramatic form that reserves or prepares the climax for the later moments of the experience. The insomnia model, or rather, the falling asleep model, has its own drama, with the goal being an absence of energy, rather than an accumulation. Movement three reflects on this anti-climax model as the clarinet gradually unwinds the tension of the previous movements and stretches the piece out into narrow, loose threads.

The last movement, Orbit, is cast as a theme and variations. The cyclical nature of an orbit is self-evident, however, as one begins to factor in the axial rotation of the given objects, and recognize that celestial bodies orbit one another in vast, complex systems (i.e. the Moon orbits the Earth, which orbits the Sun, which along with its entire Solar System of orbiting planets, comets, and asteroids, orbits the center of the Milky Way galaxy, which in turn…) it becomes daunting. Introduce asymmetry in the form of oscillation or acceleration into the mix and it becomes dizzying. As the variations of the fourth movement progress they accelerate and intensify, spinning together the loose threads of the end of the third movement and propelling the quintet to its end.