0729538B-8BDD-4C89-978E-C6D516204A7F

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ID0729538B-8BDD-4C89-978E-C6D516204A7F
TitlecodeX504047
Title NameThe Ceiling of Heaven: Five Movements for Violin, Viola, Cello, and Piano
Marketing CopyRecorded by the Chamber Music Conference and Composers Forum of the East, Albany Records, Troy 777. Movements: I. Prelude: Distant Fanfares, II. Zenith, III. Elegy, IV. Interlude: Processional, V. The Ceiling of Heaven
InstrumentationViolin, Viola, Cello, Piano
CommissionCommissioned by the Jacob Glick Memorial Endowment Fund of the Chamber Music Conference and Composers' Forum of the East, with assistance from the Monday Evening Concert Series of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Xtet.
Dedication(not set)
Program NotesThe title for The Ceiling of Heaven comes from a Kenneth Rexroth poem called "Signature of All Things":

<UL>The Hawks scream,
Playing together on the ceiling
Of heaven. The long hours go by.
I think of those who have loved me,
Of all the mountains I have climbed,
Of all the seas I have swum in. </UL>

This evokes the natural world--always an inspiration for me--and the notion of a piece "in memory of." The subtitles of the five movements hints at their content: 1. "Distant Fanfares" presents declamatory statements featuring the viola and echoed in the other instruments; 2. "Zenith" suggests the sun high in a desert sky--another ceiling of heaven--with a more expressive solo in the viola as its middle section; 3. "Elegy" is an extended, lyric memorial framing a central agitated fast section; 4. "Interlude: Processional" is a brief valedictory dirge; and 5. "The Ceiling of Heaven" is a rambunctious evocation of those hawks--and all freewheeling beings--"playing together on the ceiling of heaven." Movements 1-2 and 4-5 are played without pause.

The Ceiling of Heaven was jointly commissioned by the Jacob Glick Memorial Endowment Fund of the Chamber Music Conference and Composers' Forum of the East, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Xtet. Violist Jacob Glick was a beloved faculty member and music director of the Chamber Music Conference for many years, and he was an avid champion of new music throughout his career.

Note: The second Movement, Zenith, is available as a separate work and may be performed alone. --Donald Crockett
Title Brand2
Year Composed2003
Copyright Number(not set)
Copyright Year(not set)
Duration25
Ensemble Size4
Date Created2008-10-31 20:32:11.000000
Date Updated2025-09-30 20:32:11
Inhouse Note(not set)
Bsc Code(not set)
Text Author(not set)
Premier Performance Memo(not set)
Recording CreditsRecorded by the Chamber Music Conference and Composers Forum of the East, Albany Records, Troy 777.
Review(not set)
Awards(not set)
Title Category10
Title MovementsI. Prelude: Distant Fanfares
II. Zenith
III. Elegy
IV. Interlude: Processional
V. The Ceiling of Heaven
Title Grade(not set)
Set Series ID(not set)
Title Instrument Category TextString Duo & Ensemble
Title Sub Category Text(not set)
Title Sub Category72
Title Instrument Header63
Title Grade Text(not set)
Clean Urlthe-ceiling-of-heaven-five-movements-for-violin-viola-cello-and-piano-x504047