2BE05149-1BA2-4B85-BF8E-CE55D065F7B8

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ID2BE05149-1BA2-4B85-BF8E-CE55D065F7B8
TitlecodeR01177
Title NameTracking Inland
Marketing CopyCommissioned for Pacific Serenades by Charles Bush in honor of Susan Bush. This chamber piece for flute, clarinet/cass clarinet, harp, and string quartet was commissioned as a companion piece for Ravel's "Introduction and Allegro," which shares the same instrumentation.
InstrumentationFlute, B-flat Clarinet/Bass Clarinet, Harp, String Quartet
CommissionCommissioned for Pacific Serenades by Charles Bush in honor of Susan Bush.
Dedication(not set)
Program NotesTracking Inland began with its instrumentation. Since I have written two string quartets and a number of trios and quintets for various instrumental combinations, I asked Mark Carlson, the director of Pacific Serenades, if I might be able to write for a larger group. He came up with the Ravel Introduction and Allegro, and I was happy to accept the challenge to compose a companion work for the same instrumentation of flute, clarinet, harpand string quartet. It is interesting how some pieces can generate an entire repertory of music, since ensembles will form due to single piece. Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire is the most famous example, since many ensembles have that basic instrumentation, and approximately a zillion pieces have been written for the "Pierrot plus percussion" group.

As for Tracking Inland itself, it takes as a point of departure the coloristic possibilities of the ensemble, and I can hear Franco-Russian influences in it-that is to say, Ravel, Debussy and Stravinsky, in addition to various trends in American music that are always a part of my language. Though I often find inspiration from external sources-especially poetry and nature-I chose in this piece to focus inward for the basic inspiration. Of course, composers and other artists do this a great dealof the time anyway, but I decided to make this a focus of the piece. Nature is there as well, since I use the image of tracking in a landscape. In the opening section of the piece, I am imagining a journey across an inner plain, and shooting stars gradually appear in the night sky. During my journey inland, I discover various personages which I express musically. And yes, I was reading some Jung while composing the piece. Tracking Inland was commissioned for Pacific Serenades by Charles Bush in honor of Susan Bush, and was completed in April 2001. --Donald Crockett
Title Brand2
Year Composed2001
Copyright Number(not set)
Copyright Year(not set)
Duration15
Ensemble Size7
Date Created2008-10-31 20:31:02.000000
Date Updated2025-09-30 20:31:02
Inhouse Note(not set)
Bsc Code(not set)
Text Author(not set)
Premier Performance Memo-XTET. Donald Crockett. 05 Nov 2001.
-World Premiere. Pacific Serenades. 02, 02, 05 Jun 2001.
Recording Credits(not set)
Review"Donald Crockett conducted his attractive new septet Tracking Inland, which opens with that elusive commodity, a great musical idea--a lovely ostinato pattern that comes around again after a journey through agitated and lyrical terrain." --Richard S. Ginell, Los Angeles Times<BR><BR>

"...In its journeying aspect, the piece [Tracking Inland] does have a palpable sense of motion and discovery, of unanticipated contours traversed with accepting wonder. It also seems to come full circle, or at least to a point of recognizable congruity. This is a rounded, clearly articulated form, filled with motivic energy and instrumental color. The acknowledged intimations of Ravel and Stravinsky are keenly felt, but without overwhelming a characterful and original work of expressive imagination and clean craftsmanship." <BR>--John Henken, Los Angeles Times
Awards(not set)
Title Category2
Title Movements(not set)
Title Grade(not set)
Set Series ID(not set)
Title Instrument Category TextSeptet
Title Sub Category Text(not set)
Title Sub Category-1
Title Instrument Header22
Title Grade Text(not set)
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