Triptych for solo cello was commissioned for the 2013 Irving M. Klein International String Competition. Heard here as a composite performance. Movement 1: Dark Waters is a quiet, yet uneasy perpetual motion movement, like the Prelude of  a Bach Cello Suite, that sinuously moves through the cello’s registers like the turbulent flow of water (Performed by Jacques-Pierre Malan for the Washington DC premiere at the Phillips Collection). Movement 2: Parting is reminiscent of a Sarabande. Slow and expressive, it features double-stopped contrapuntal legato lines that must sing while making the player shift fingers as they sustain an additional note above or below. Movement 3: Approaching Home is of a completely different and new world. Expressing the excitement and optimism of the upcoming new chapter in our lives, it is light, based on fast ricocheted arpeggios of simple diatonic harmonies. It is more harmonic and rhythmic than melodic, for the most part, and is virtuosic in a very understated way (Movements 2 & 3 Parting & Approaching Home performed by semifinalist Sarina Zhang, Klein International String Competition). A composite performance is here. The score is available through Grey Bird Music. To see a perusal score click here.

You can purchase a 10×13″ PDF copy of the score below: