Romanza for Clarinet and Violin

for clarinet and violin

Duration - approx. 9 minutes

Program Notes:

Oscar Wilde said, “Music makes one feel romantic”.  Yet this is not the case in this work; for the romance of this piece is not for the listeners in the concert hall, but for the long notes drawing from each instrument.  Romanza for Clarinet and Violin is really a romance of counterpoint.  The clarinet and violin play a game of give and take that ends consonant one time and dissonant the other.  The melancholy sound of the piece will not supply romance, but rather rightfully reveal what romance one already has available.  This effect is akin to seeing a picture in black and white and then noticing a red rose in the corner.  This is largely due to the interval choices in the piece.  After all, it is the beats of the major and minor seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths that give the piece its mood.  And occasionally, when a perfect interval arrives it sounds like a quiet reprieve that has been delayed for too long. 

The counterpoint between the two instruments create a mix of dissonance and consonance that is made melancholy through the use of a heightened sense of chormaticism and inevitability.  Repetition of long tones gives the piece a slowness that is sometimes a little awkward to the listener.  But the romance is there in the interaction between the instruments.  The counterpoint, although maybe not romantic to the listener, is nonetheless intimate and romantic between the instruments.  And maybe, this is what Wilde meant in his quote, that music doesn’t actually create the romance, but instead makes you feel the romance that was already inherent.

                                                                                                -Ryan Jesperson
10/24/06

This piece was premiered by Cheryl Melfi and Misty Elfer on September 24th, 2007 in White Hall at UMKC.