CALDER CADENCES

Duration: 10 minutes
Instrumentation: flute, Bb clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, and piano

Score
Audio:   Movement I   Movement II   Movement III   Movement IV

I. "The Crab" (1962) Houston, Texas
II. "The Big Sail" (1965) Boston, Massachusetts
III. "Lily of Force" (1945)
IV. "Three Up, Three Down" (1973) Atlanta, Georgia

Each of the four movements of Calder Cadences is inspired by a Calder structure: the first by "The Crab" (1962) which rests outside the Houston Museum of Fine Art, the second by "The Grand Sail" (1965) which stands on the campus of MIT in Boston, the third by the stabile "Lily of Force" (1945) which sold at auction in 2012 to a private dealer for $18.6 million, and the fourth by "Three Up, Three Down" which is located on the grounds of Atlanta’s High Museum. In the short, fleeting opening movement, a rapid–fire flute demands the listener’s attention. Formally, the arch–form movement is loosely palindromic, making it quasi "crab–like." The second movement takes on a brooding, ominous tone. Plodding pulses in the piano support more extroverted strains in the cello and bass clarinet. The third movement features placid sinewy lines similar to the wired structure of Calder’s "Lily" stabile. The final movement functions almost as a mobile. Sharp accents in the piano are sustained and enlivened by the other members of the ensemble, and new shadows are cast with each turn of this musical mobile.

Performances

—October 26, 2013: Ensemble: Périphérie, Carnegie Hall (New York, NY)
—March 10, 2013: Ensemble: Périphérie, University of Iowa (Iowa City)
—March 9, 2013: Ensemble: Périphérie, Coe College (Cedar Rapids, IA)
—March 8, 2013: Ensemble: Périphérie, University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
—March 7, 2013: Ensemble: Périphérie, University of Wisconsin–Madison (Madison, WI)
—March 6, 2013: Ensemble: Périphérie, Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, IL)