The Summer Triangle

for clarinet, violin and piano (2015)

The Summer Triangle is a portrait of my stay in the Utah desert as represented by the nightly procession of a seasonal asterism. The five movements of the piece, played together without pause, reflect on individual aspects as well as more general sentiments experienced during that time.

I. The Veneer of Spring is a clarinet and violin duo that draws material from Claude Le Jeune’s 1603 chanson, Revecy venir du printemps [Here again comes the Spring]. The title plays on the French verb venir and the English veneer (from the German, furnier). While the movement serves as the “surface” of the composition, its title also references the verdant luster of the season.