On April 26, 2019, I had the opportunity to perform a 50-minute concert as part of the Oregon State University Music à la Carte series. The majority of the pieces performed were premiers of my own compositions, and I want to share a little bit about the experience with you!
Today I want to discuss my work Unraveled Pearls. Written for piano and woodwind quartet, the piece combines old with the new to create a world of color and conversation.
Unraveled Pearls
Unraveled Pearls is a musical conversation based on J.S. Bach’s chorale BWV 40 No. 8. Juxtaposing counterpoint with jazz and minimalism, the work examines the chorale’s theme through harmonic exploration, syncopated rhythms, and layering textures.
Here’s the Bach chorale if you want to compare:
You will hear pieces of the Bach throughout Unraveled Pearls. These pieces, however, are often hidden in syncopation and unexpected harmonies.
For example, the opening phrase played by the piano is the first two measures of the chorale – just with a slightly different rhythm. And at 4:00, the winds play a disassembled version of the hymn for a few bars. Then again – 5:34 is taken directly from Bach.
Interspersed with the chorale is a mixture of minimalism, jazz rhythms, and counterpoint. With these ideas in mind, the instruments take turns creating a conversation between each of the thematic ideas.
About the Title
The term “baroque” comes from a French word that means “irregularly shaped” that, in the 17th century, was used to refer to pearls. Critics of the time started applying the term to art and music they found excessively decorative or overly complicated, but as the Baroque-era-style of ornamentation and frills became the new normal, “baroque” came to describe the time period as a whole.
So I decided to call the piece Unraveled Pearls as a play on words. The basis for the work is a Baroque piece. I then took that chorale and unraveled it to explore and expand the harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic ideas.
You can buy the sheet music for Unraveled Pearls here:
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