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Homage

composition
posted on 2024-04-05, 04:32 authored by Paul Dean

Homage is dedicated to my colleagues in Ensemble Q. Written for clarinet, violin, and cello, it is designed to be a 13-minute pastiche of movements dedicated to various composers, heroes, performers, ideas, and memories. Many of the movements resulted from little ditties that I wrote for various friends as a daily ritual during the COVID-19 pandemic, and indeed, some of the memories explored in the work are of that period. The movements are:

  1. Homage to the dining room waltz
  2. Homage to Lynn Harrell
  3. Homage to Stravinsky
  4. Homage to a five-minute funeral
  5. Homage to toddler fun
  6. Homage to Tim Brooke Taylor
  7. Homage to Bartok

Homage was programmed by Ensemble Q for the group's 2023 Musica Viva Regional NSW tour, during which it received its premiere, with the composer on clarinet, Natsuko Yoshimoto on violin, and Trish Dean on cello.

History

ERA Category

  • Original Creative Work - Musical Composition

Eligible major research output?

  • Yes

Research Statement

Homage is dedicated to my colleagues in Ensemble Q. Written for clarinet, violin, and cello, it is designed to be a 13-minute pastiche of movements dedicated to various composers, heroes, performers, ideas, and memories. Many of the movements resulted from little ditties that I wrote for various friends as a daily ritual during the COVID-19 pandemic, and indeed, some of the memories explored in the work are of that period. The movements are: 1. Homage to the dining room waltz 2. Homage to Lynn Harrell 3. Homage to Stravinsky 4. Homage to a five-minute funeral 5. Homage to toddler fun 6. Homage to Tim Brooke Taylor 7. Homage to Bartok Repertoire for this combination of instruments—clarinet, violin, and cello—is rare despite it being three-quarters of Oliver Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, one of the most famous chamber works of the 20th century. Other than Concerto a Tre by Ingolf Dahl, there are no original compositions for the combination regularly performed. As such, Homage aims to address this gap and provide further repertoire for ensembles wishing to programme Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. The compositional process involved finding a balance between a powerful wind instrument and solo string instruments. Doing so had flow-on effects for the voicing of melody, harmony, and rhythm. Homage was programmed by Ensemble Q for the group's 2023 Musica Viva Regional NSW tour, during which it received its premiere, with the composer on clarinet, Natsuko Yoshimoto on violin, and Trish Dean on cello. It was subsequently performed by the same musicians on 24 August, 2023, at Gunnedah Conservatorium of Music and 25 August, 2023, at Orange Conservatorium of Music. This work will be published through the Australian Music Centre and available from mid-2024.

Copyright notes

© 2023 Paul Dean

Performance size

  • Group

Number of work performers

3

Authors of work performed

Paul Dean

Was the work disseminated?

  • Yes

Form of dissemination

  • Public performance

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