Illuminated Leaf for Piano (No. 9a from Paul Klee: Painted Songs)

Illuminated Leaf for Piano No. 9a from Paul Klee: Painted Songs

Jonathan Posthuma

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About Paul Klee: Painted Songs Paul Klee: Painted Songs is an ongoing series of instrumental chamber works inspired by the visual art of Paul Klee. The series began in 2011 as a composition assignment from my first composition teacher, Luke Dahn, who asked all of his students to compose a work for clarinet and piano inspired by the iconic "Twittering Machine." Over the years, I have added to the series, continuing to draw on the wealth of inspiration from Klee's images, which are filled with musical references, textures, colors, and symbols that closely link musical concepts with his Klee's philosophy of visual art. To me, these pieces are musical settings of visual poetry, hence "painted songs." What continues to fascinate me about Klee is both the diversity and consistency of his total body of work. Throughout his vast career, certain ideas continue to resurface and find new applications. In this spirit, Paul Klee: Painted Songs continues to expand, ever exploring the poetry of his work through musical interpretation.

Performing Paul Klee: Painted Songs Each piece within Paul Klee: Painted Songs can be performed separately and is considered an independent, free-standing musical work. But, performers are encouraged to recontextualize these pieces into "galleries." Like a curator of an art gallery, performers can combine these works in any order or number, interpolate them with other works by other composers, or arrange them for different instrumental forces. Some pieces are more flexible than others, but the full work is designed to be self-referential and open to interpretation. As the series grows larger, I have aided "curators" by arranging and composing my own "galleries," multi-movement works that were conceived together, but even these can be rearranged and will evolve as more "painted songs" are added to the series and developed in collaboration with performers.

About "Illuminated Leaf" (Belichtetes Blatt, 1929) A simple line drawing takes the form of a single leaf, highlighted by contoured layers of dull greenish-gray and white. This short etude explores harmonies built from parallel fourths and the counterpoint of multiple lines interacting with planes of harmonic color and melodic contour.

Note: No. 9a "Illuminated Leaf" appears as Mvt. X of Gallery II and has been arranged for clarinet, vibraphone, marimba, and piano (No. 9b / Mvt. V or I in Gallery V). Performers may adapt this work for organ or harpsichord, and further arrangements for other ensembles are available by request.

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Illuminated Leaf (Belichtetes Blatt, 1929)

No. 9a from Paul Klee: Painted Songs Jonathan Posthuma (b. 1989)

Simply, Ambiguously; q = 60

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© 2015 by Jonathan Posthuma Demodocus Music Publishing www.jonathanposthuma.com

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© 2015 by Jonathan Posthuma Demodocus Music Publishing www.jonathanposthuma.com

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May 25, 2015 Madison, Wisconsin