PROGRAM NOTES

Canticle: In Memoriam, Halsey Stevens Notes by composer I composed the Canticle as a song of farewell to my teacher, friend and colleague, Halsey Stevens, following his death in 1989. Halsey had a particular fondness for the clarinet and composed several works for the instrument, including his excellent Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra. This quiet, brief work (under four minutes) was premiered at the Schoenberg Institute in 1990 by Al Rice. The Canticle is bipartite, with the second half a set of four compressed variations of opening material, each variation delineated by two multiphonics, suggesting tolling bells.

 

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