WORKS FOR LARGE CHAMBER ENSEMBLES
This page covers chamber works for six or more players.
Laid upon the children (2014)
For flute (doubling bass flute), oboe (doubling English horn), clarinet (doubling bass clarinet), viola, cello, bass, and percussion, 21 minutes.
Written for a dance that juxtaposed comedy and tragedy by focusing on the masked ball and tomb scenes from Romeo and Juliet, this piece has the feeling of a suite. After some short, Stravinskian introductory scenes, the ball scene is dominated by pretend swing music (interrupted by the emotional whirlwind of the doomed pair meeting one another). It shifts immediately into the tomb, with sparser textures, emotional outbursts, and an extended cello solo that corresponded with the corpse duet in the choreography. Effective tunes, generally quite playable but some tricky balances, and the cello solo is demanding.
Passacaglia (2012)
For flute, clarinet, marimba, piano, violin, and cello, about 7.5 minutes.
This is a dense, challenging piece that, looking back, seems unusually angsty. It is, indeed, a passacaglia (following an introduction), but it also layers on intricate ensemble coordination, occasional quarter-tone passages, and some persnickety textures. Can be rewarding, but requires a very tight ensemble and conscientious conductor.
Crux (2012)
For clarinet, percussion, and string sextet, about 16 minutes.
One of my strongest works, Crux offers a palpable emotional arc and soloistic parts, with memorable vignettes and a hushed. otherworldly coda. Because I conceived this for dance with each instrument (except the percussion) corresponding to a particular dancer, the parts have sharply drawn character profiles. Sometimes it gives the sense of a chamber concerto for clarinet, but the strings (introduced gradually in mismatched pairs) are also soloistic. The percussion setup includes five Tibetan singing bowls that I may be able to provide.
Marionettenfädendurcheinanderwalzer (2011)
See the entry under small chamber works for more info, but the original instrumentation was for sextet.