Clare Shore's Cycle de Vie for bassoon and string quartet
Date of completion: January 26, 1989; Approximate Duration: 14'
Program Notes With the bassoon always as protagonist, the musical characters interact in much the same ways as do human beings during the various The one-movement structure begins in the Lydian mode and during the opening section gradually embraces all twelve notes of the chromatic Cycle de Vie was commissioned by an anonymous patron for Truman Harris and National Musical Arts, to whom the work is dedicated. Cycle de Vie was premiered by National Musical Arts at the National Academy of Sciences
stages of the life cycle, from a 'simultaneous monologue' type of conversation in childhood during which youngsters listen and contribute to
one another's ideas only occasionally, to violent clashes and rapidly changing moods of adolescence and passions of early adulthood, to a
more peaceful coexistence with one's peers upon maturity, finally culminating in the acceptance of solitude and communication with one's
inner self during the latter days of life.
scale. Unison cadence points from the beginning to the end of the movement outline the notes of the finally arrived at series. A two-part 'canon'
heard first in the tremolo violins marks the beginning of the middle section and serves as a unifying thread to the end of the section while
different characters fade in and out of focus. From the beginning of the middle section to the end of the piece, two hexachords, one in the bassoon,
the other in the non-canonic voices, undergo continuous development by 'borrowing' material from one another, one note at a time, until a point
of neutrality is reached.
in Washington, DC, on May 20, 1989, with Truman Harris, bassoon; Elisabeth Adkins and
Sally McLain, violins; Denise Wilkinson, viola; and David Teie, 'cello.
Publisher
E.C. Schirmer Music Company, Inc.
(available from (sheetmusicplus.com)
or call E.C. Schirmer toll-free:1-800-777-1919
Listen to excerpts from Cycle de Vie
Reviews
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