works
Chromatic Aberration
for clarinet, piano, violin, and cello
Duration: ca. 8'00"
The title of this work may seem a bit odd, so it seems fitting to provide some explanation. Literally, �chromatic aberration� occurs in optics when light is passed through a lens; the light emerging from the lens is partially split into its component colors (like in a prism). That may not seem all that helpful, but the title also has certain musical meanings. It is chromatic in the musical sense of the word; that is, it does not tend toward any particular key. It is also aberrant, not just in its chromaticism, but in its style. While the ensemble of clarinet, piano, violin, and cello is commonly conceived as very "classical," this piece looks to jazz for much of its idiom. It is based on two jazzy melodies, one simple and bluesy, almost Gershwin-esque, the other raucous and more related to "bebop." In the spirit of these jazz influences, there are several sections of the piece in which the players are asked to improvise rhythmically (not to mention a few overtly jazzy parts). But while the piece relies on melody, it is built even more strongly on a rhythmic figure which is apparent throughout. It is that of a hemiola�a rhythmic group of three superimposed on a group of two, which is very common in jazz music.
The idea of the lens inducing chromatic aberration again becomes relevant. As a musician acquainted with and involved in many different types of music, I prefer not to think of styles as separate entities, but as different ways of viewing the same thing. Each style or method is just a different refracted ray from the fundamental light of music.
sound sample (1:20, 1.22 MB) | score sample